Winning in Third Place
by Decembers-Coldest-Rain
Summary: Really, asking one's best friend to teach you to kiss shouldn't be such a big deal. Even if said best friend is also a guy... yaoi RikuSora
1. Chapter 1

**Pre A/N** Hohoho! It's me, back from vacation and here with my brand-new KH Fanfic, a Shounen Ai pairing Riku and Sora. I'm a big fan of Yaoi, but having read loads of it, I've found one thing in common with almost every fic: they meet each other and two days later they are humping each other in an alleyway. So I decided instead of jumping to the whole smex thing, I wanted to write a fic about how they actually fall in love.. And maybe have some smex after that... Or during. (Oh, and do me a favor. This chapter was written a long time ago, and I plan to rewrite it eventually, but for now at least get to chapter two before you judge the book!) Anyways, now that I've told you my reasoning's for writing this little fic-let, lets get on with it!

(And I think I need to warn you about (some) colorful language!)

Winning in Third Place

Chapter I

"Riku!"

The word was spoken is a hushed voice, followed by the light tapping of fingers against glass. The owner of said fingers crouched awkwardly outside his best friend's window, his knees pushed painfully into his chest as he tried pathetically to keep his unruly brown hair from getting caught in an inconveniently placed bush. "Riku," The boy hissed again, pressing his frame against the clear glass of his friend's window and whispering more urgently, "if you're awake let me in."

A few seconds later a thunk could be heard from inside the room, followed by a rather provocative string of curses as the white-haired boy named Riku appeared in front of his window, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Sora?" Riku asked, sliding his window open and glaring at the spiky-haired teen. "What the... its two in the morning!" Sora grinned and shoved his friend to the side; he eagerly scrambled through the window and rolled onto Riku's plush carpet, kneaded it through his finders as he sprawled on his back.

"I know… but I couldn't sleep." He lifted his head and watched his friend, almost as if he was checking to see if Riku had changed in the last day. Sora rolled onto his knees and shuffled across the carpet, eyeing Riku carefully as he circled around him and finally stood. Face to face, Sora leaned towards Riku with an unmistakably perverted grin on his features as he asked the question that had kept him up for two days straight. "So… How was it?"

Riku just stared, fully understanding the question but not wanting to answer it. Two days ago he and his girlfriend had left town for a romantic day together. Riku had planned all sorts of activities, but the most important had been his _first time_, which he had spent many hours gloating about to his virgin best-friend. Now gloating was the last thing he wanted to do, so he vainly tried to hint that Sora should change the subject, "Uhh, how was what?" He asked, sheepishly running a hand through his icy locks.

Sora dropped his jaw comically, stumbling back and almost tripping. "You're a bastard Riku," He playfully accused, folding his hands over his chest and mimicking Riku's voice, "I'm Riku and I'm too cool to remember the **most important event of my youth**, even though it only happened a **day** ago." Riku tried to suppress a laugh as Sora straightened his posture and angrily poked him in the chest, "Now we both know what I'm talking about, so _spill_!" Sora set his hands on his hips in an 'I-won't-leave-'till-you-tell-me' manner.

Riku raised his hands in defeat, "Okay, you got me." He said, playfully hanging his head. When he finally looked up, Riku plastered on the fakest smile he could force and tried not to sound too pitiful, "She changed her mind."

Sora deflated, he dropped his hands to his sides and flushed with embarrassment at having assumed everything went great. Riku continued, his fake smile still in place, "She dumped me too, but besides that it was really fun." He took a shuddering breath, "The hotel had this awesome water slide, and…" Riku paused to wipe his eyes, "And…" his voice broke off into a sob. "**God!**" Riku yelled angrily as he pushed past Sora and collapsed onto his bed, grapping one of his dark blue pillows and burying his face into it. Sora watched as his friend was reduced to a pile of sixteen-year-old-angst, breathing rapidly as he dry-heaved into a pillow.

This was awkward. All his life Sora had believed that Riku didn't express his emotions… couldn't really. And here he was, not just 'expressing' but literally sobbing, and Sora didn't know what to do. He fought the urge to run over and do _something_; something like pat his back or even worse **hug** him, but if he did anything as mushy as that he'd be breaking the boy code and Riku would probably punch him for it. Instead Sora crossed the room slowly and sat on the edge of Riku's bed, he folded his arms behind his head and flopped back over Riku's outstretched legs. "Well, no wonder she didn't want to do anything with you! No offense, but dang Riku, when did you become such a pansy?"

Riku stopped shuddering and shot up, fixing an angry glare at his so-called friend. "Shut up." He said gruffly as he used the now soaked pillow to hit Sora over the head. Sora shielded himself with his arms and grabbed the pillow from Riku's grasp, "Wow, you even hit like one!" He accused, watching as a grin spread over the older boys features. Sora nodded vigorously in his mind, proud that he had so easily changed Riku's mood. "I guess I better stay over and make sure you don't start cutting yourself," Sora said as he threw the damp pillow back at Riku and flopped onto his back, folding his arms back behind his head and grinning at his flabbergasted friend.

Riku muttered something about stupid people inviting themselves over before he too flopped down onto the bed and flipped his pillow over to the dry side. He rolled onto his side and stared across the dark room, listening to Sora's breathing and repeating the younger boy's words through his head. "Hey Sora?" He whispered, letting the words float around the room. Sora's only reply was a soft grumble. "Do you really think that's why she dumped me?" Riku asked, unable to resist the temptation of self pity.

Sora pushed himself up on one arm and glared down at Riku, who continued to stare across the room and not look at him. "Riiiiku," Sora slurred his friend's name with an exasperated sigh, "Any girl who doesn't want to be with you is just retarded." Sora leaned down and purred into Riku's ear, "And she's missing out, 'cause you're just one sexy piece of man meat." They both burst out laughing at once, and Sora collapsed back onto his side of the bed and rolled over to face the wall, "Now shut up and let me sleep!"

Riku kicked Sora in a calf, but said nothing more. He fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

Riku awoke to the not completely uncomfortable feeling of the sun warming his skin. He cracked one eye open, and immediately regretted it as he was blinded by sunlight. Groaning, Riku moved to bury his head back into his pillow, only to find that instead he was snuggling into his shag carpet. "What the hell?" He thought out loud, angrily pushing himself up off the floor and scrambling over to his bed. Riku growled as he saw an annoyingly peaceful looking Sora sprawled across **his** bed. The boy was holding Riku's now dry pillow under one arm like a teddy bear, and he wore a blissful smile on his features; had Riku not been completely pissed at having been kicked out of his own bed, he might have thought it was cute. 

Instead, Riku tiptoed across his room and into his adjoining bathroom where he fished a cup from the cupboard and filled it with cold water; grinning evilly Riku sauntered back across his room and held the cup over the peacefully snoozing bed-hog. He tipped the cup and watched in satisfaction as the water sloshed over Sora's face. Milliseconds later Sora sputtered and shot up in the bed, wiping the water from his eyes and gagging, "What the _hell_?!" Sora yelped, "Riku, that went up my nose!" the younger boy wiped his nose for emphasis before swinging at his white-haired friend.

Riku leaned back slightly and Sora's fist met nothing but air, making the boy growl and cross his arms across his chest. "What time is it anyways?" Sora asked, watching as Riku checked his watch. "It's around noon." He confirmed, running a hand through his hair. Sora fell back onto the bed and grinned, "Good, that means I can get a few more hours in before my mom calls from work." He moved to curl up in the bed but was stopped by the seething glare he could literally _feel_ on his skin. Sora turned to look at his angry friend and asked sheepishly, "What?"

"Don't you even _think_ of going back to sleep in **my** bed, or else I'll get ice water this time." Riku crossed his arms over his chest and Sora shuddered at the thought.

The brunette raised his hands in defeat and leaned back, "Okay, okay I get the picture. Lets not be hasty Riku." He said, accompanying his words with a large grin. Sora shuffled out from the warmth of Riku's bed and realized he was still fully clothed, shoes and all. Sora groaned, "I hate sleeping in cloths; it's so uncomfortable!" he exclaimed, trying to shake the wrinkles from his shirt.

"Not as uncomfortable as sleeping on the floor," Riku said dryly, walking to the wall opposite from his bed and digging through his drawers for something to wear; unlike Sora he had PJ's on. Finding something simple he began to pull his shirt over his head before remembering he had company. Riku sent Sora a sly grin, "Do you intend to watch?" He asked playfully, laughing as Sora simply rolled his eyes and headed towards Riku's bathroom, "We're both boys Riku, and it's nothing I haven't seen before." Sora said smugly as he slid the door shut. The white-haired boy could remember running around with Sora as a five year old, he barely contained a snort at the memory of going to the beach together and losing their swim trunks to the tides; they had spent the entire day running around naked.

Riku quickly pulled his cloths on and threw his bed together; then he collapsed into one of his lounge chairs and rubbed his sore neck. Sora stepped out of the bathroom and glanced at his friend before running a hand through his messy locks and coughing loudly to gain Riku's attention. "Don't forget, Kairi's birthday party is tonight and it starts at _seven_, so don't show up an hour late like last year."

"What's the point? There's no real celebrating, her birthday parties are just an excuse to get completely hammered." Riku asked, rolling his neck from side to side. It was true, ever since age thirteen Kairi had been able to talk her brother into supplying her friends with a _huge_keg, making her parties the stuff of legends. "I know; it's great right!" Sora said gleefully, bouncing on his heels. Riku snorted, the only reason Sora like those parties at all was because Kairi would get so drunk that they'd end up having one _serious_ make out session, and the two weren't even dating. That's what everyone did; her parties were like one big orgy, which was great if you had a girlfriend, but not so good if you were dumped two days beforehand.

Riku sighed, Kairi was his friend and there was no way to get around it; she would be completely offended if he didn't show up. "Whatever, I'll see you then." Sora walked across the room and poked Riku in the forehead, "**Seven **o'clock **sharp**. Don't be late." He reminded as he slid Riku's window open and stepped out into the grass. The brunette slid the window shut behind him and practically danced across the grass and into his own house. Riku waited to see if Sora would poke his head back around the corner and remind him one more time not to be late, but the younger boy did no such thing.

After a moment Riku went back to rolling his neck before deciding if he was really going to stand around and be bored at Kairi's then he defiantly needed a heating pad… and maybe a few aspirins.

* * *

Kairi's house was ablaze with colorful lights and pumping music. Riku could feel the base from across the street at his house, it thumped through his chest and rattled his bones in an exhilarating way that heightened his mood and made him actually look forward to crossing the street and having fun with his friends. Riku checked his watch and grinned, it was seven-thirty and just late enough to make Kairi mad, which he always enjoyed doing. Carefully, Riku tucked her hand-wrapped present under his arm and set off across the street, weaving in and out of the cars that lined the sidewalk and went down at least two blocks. 

Riku waved at a few friends from school as he walked up the curving pathway that lead straight to Kairi's front door, which sported a sign that read 'No shoes, no shirt, no service.' Riku laughed as he swung the door open and stepped inside.

A wall of sounds and smells hit him. Outside the music had been loud, but now it pulsed against his eardrums and circled through his chest so powerfully it made Riku dizzy. People had to yell to talk over the music, and those who weren't dancing were drinking out of red plastic cups and laughing with one another. The smell of alcohol swirling through the air was so pungent Riku felt slightly intoxicated by just breathing. He was already deafened by the music, but the blaring lights that swirled overhead blinded him and made him bump into several couples. The sixteen-year-old was completely overwhelmed, like he always was whenever he walked into such crowded places. Riku groped his way across the room and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes a taking a few deep breaths before looking up and trying to locate either Sora or Kairi.

Doing so didn't take long. The second Riku let his eyes wander over the crowd he saw a cherry head of hair speeding towards him. Moments later Riku was impacted by an ecstatic Kairi, she threw her arms around his neck and squealed, "Riiiiku! I was scared you weren't going to come!" She pulled back and looked him straight in the eye, "And I heard about your girlfriend… She's a whore." The redhead nodded vigorously to herself before she caught sight of the medium sized package under his arm. She put her first squeal to shame as Kairi pointed to the shiny wrapping paper and questioned, "Is that for me?" She didn't wait for an answer and grabbed it from under Riku's arm.

"Where's Sora?" Riku half-yelled over the music as Kairi shook the box back and forth and held it up to her ear. The girl shrugged and focused on ripping of shiny silver paper off the box. Once it was finally open she peered inside and grinned, "Oh Riku! It's just what I wanted!" She fished the twenty dollar bill out from the box and stuffed it into the pocket of her short pink dress. Someone in the crowd caught her eye and Kairi waved wildly at whomever and was gone before Riku had time to blink.

_She is definatly drunk_, He thought with an amused smile.

Sighing, Riku nudged his way back into the crowd and towards what he hoped was the keg. Next to it, he could barely make out the image of a spiky brown-haired boy and a dark haired girl he didn't know. To his disappointment, the boy wasn't Sora and the only refreshments on the table were a bowel of punch and a plate of chips and sauces. Grumbling to himself, Riku turned around and searched for a much needed alcoholic beverage. "The keg is in the kitchen." A familiar voice slurred from behind him. The white-haired teen swung around and came face to face with a flushed Sora, the boy had obviously had one too many. Sora's smiling face suddenly scrunched up into a glare, "I thought you said you would be here at seven?" the brunette wobbled on his feet, "You know how Kairi gets…"

The older of the two nodded, his shaggy hair shaking along with his head. "Sorry about that, but I had to make myself look nice." Riku said, a sheepish smile lighting up his features. Sora gave his friend a once over, the sixteen-year-old wore his favorite loose-fitting white shirt with horizontal lime stripes and baggy denim pants.

"You look exactly like you did when I left this morning." The brunette examined with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, but I brushed my hair," Riku smiled cheekily and turned abruptly in the direction of the kitchen. He disappeared into the crowd and Sora lost sight of him a second later. The boy frowned to himself and said under his breath, "It doesn't _look_ like it." Before running in the general direction Riku had gone and yelling, "Bring me one back!" He could only just see Riku nod across the congested dance floor.

The teen in question was currently elbowing his way towards the kitchen. It seemed as if Kairi had managed to stuff the entire population of their island into her living room, and he had to force his way past them if he ever wanted even a drop of alcohol. Riku finally erupted from the haze of grinding bodies and intoxicated teens into the momentarily blinding white light of the kitchen. He blinked, disoriented for a moment before rubbing his eyes and looking around. This room put the last to shame. The keg seemed to attract his peers like flies; they swarmed around it and buzzed with conversation as they filled small plastic cups to the brim with the tart amber liquid Riku craved so much. Without hesitation the white-haired boy hiked into the mob of drunken hooligans and clawed his way to the keg. Swiping his own plastic cup off the table, Riku leaned forward and filled it to the rim. As an after-thought he grabbed another cup and also filled it with the bitter drink; he was too nice to make Sora brave these hordes alone.

Now all he had to do was get back.

Riku was mildly disturbed by the people he saw on his way to Sora; he saw two boys chained together at the wrist dancing, and behind them and girl with pink hair was downing what looked like a soda, but judging by the swagger in her step and the color on her cheeks it was probably alcohol. Riku shook his head and side-stepped a girl in a slinky silver dress with cropped blond hair, but almost ran into the boy trailing behind her. Beer sloshed from the brim of his cup and onto his wrist as he jerked to the side to avoid impact. The boy started to apologize but was tugged away by the girl leading him. Shaking his head, Riku weaved between the grinding bodies around him and finally made it back to the wall where he had left his friend.

Only Sora wasn't alone. Crouched together, Riku watched his two best friends practically devouring each others faces. Sora had his back pressed into the wall, his hands circling Kairi's waist as he pulled her closer into him. The redhead had her head tilted to the side, her arms drooped over Sora's shoulders with her fingers entwined in his hair. They shifted together and appeared completely oblivious to the fact that half of their school was here to watch them consume each other.

Flushed, Riku shuffled back and averted his eyes. He suddenly felt sick; his stomach tied itself in knots as the teen looked over the crowd of couples. Riku was in a room of cooperating gears and he had just become one big third wheel. Angrily, he brought the bright red cup to his lips and threw it back in one gulp. The teen crushed the flimsy plastic in his hand before throwing in over his shoulder and tipping back the beer he had gotten for Sora. Apparently his friend was too busy to need it. His throat was on fire as Riku shoved through the throngs of people and back into the kitchen. He sat himself down next to the keg and grabbed another cup; filling it to the brim the teen happily downed the beverage and let the sting of alcohol distract him from the freshly opened wound in his chest.

Riku grimaced as he placed his cup back under the nozzle of the keg; he was going to need a lot more of this stuff to get through tonight.

* * *

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**Post A/N**: Woop! Finished chapter one and managed to get over 3,500 words! That's a new record for me. I hope it was long enough, and not boring and uneventful. I know much didn't happen, but it's going to take time to get into the real plot of the book. Anyways, by the time I post this I'll have at LEAST three other chapters written. And I'll post them regularly.  Please review! I love reviews and they keep me going.

**---EDIT! --- I did some work on this chapter. Not anything important... just took out alot of the curse words. I felt like they really took away from the story, and I've been meaning to delete them for a long time. I hope this will make reading more enjoyable for everyone. :D Oh! And I DO realize this was short... The chapters get longer the farther you read! **

Flames will be used to roast marshmallows 


	2. Chapter 2

**Pre A/N**: So I was at home and I thought… Well. What the hell. This chapter has been rotting on my computer for MONTHS by now – and I'm not sure why. So I thought: "Hey, if there's a chance someone out there will enjoy it, why not post?"

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Kingdom hearts or any of its characters. This is the last time I'm doing a disclaimer becauseif you haven't gotten the message by now, frankly, you're retarded. XD

* * *

**Winning in Third Place**

Chapter 2

* * *

Riku jerked into consciousness, flying up from the tangle of his bed sheets and yelping as the immense hangover from last night caught up with him and pounded itself into his skull. Groaning, Riku collapsed back into his pillows and cradled his throbbing temples. Groggily he wiped a large amount of dribble from his chin and sputtered, "I'm never drinking again." 

The phone rang. That must have been what had woken him up. Riku flopped out of his bed and shimmied across his carpet, without standing he groped the small end table next to his lounge chair and grabbed the phone, he pressed the light green 'talk' button and grumbled into the receiver, "What?"

Static rumbled on the other line before Riku heard Sora's detached voice, "Riku? RIKU! Where did you go last night? Kairi and I were looking all over for you!" Riku didn't reply; he didn't quite feel like enlightening Sora about the wonders of curling up to your toilet for three hours straight. "You really had us worried," the younger boy continued.

"Sora," Riku slurred into the phone. "What time is it?"

The other line remained quite for a moment before Sora answered. "Well, my watch says is nine forty-three." There was no mistaking the sheepish tone of his voice.

The white-haired teen let his jaw drop open, "_What_? Sora, you were completely hammered last night. How are you even awake right now?" And more importantly to Riku, why was his stupid friend keeping him awake, too.

"Well, last night when I got home my head really hurt so I went to get some aspirins, but instead I found this really great hangover stuff and I took a few and now I feel great!" Sora spoke the full sentence in one breath before huffing and adding, "Oh! And I think they have caffeine in them too because I mean WOW! I feel like running a marathon!" Riku blinked and pulled the phone away from his face, checking to make sure the bubbly voice on the other line really was his best friend. He listened as static rumbled from the phone and Sora's voice was carried to his ears. "Yeah, so I was lying around and watching T.V. when I remembered that the ice-cream truck comes down our street at ten; want to come and get something with me?" his friend asked.

"Not really…" Riku replied, letting his body sag back into his wonderfully fluffy shag carpet and nearly passing out then and there.

"Please!!!!!!!" Sora hitched his voice up a pitch and penetrated Riku's hazy mind. "We used to get ice-cream all the time when we were younger! Remember?"

The older teen grunted into the phone and buried his face in the carpet, enjoying the feel of the coarse threads against his cheeks. "Will you hang up the phone and let me sleep for another fifteen minutes if I go?" He asked, words distorted by the fabric under his face.

"Yes! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes! I'm hanging up right now and I'll drop by your place in fifteen!" Sora made a disturbingly high-pitched squeak right before the line went dead. Riku dropped the phone without bothering to turn it off and yawned as he snuggled into the carpet, letting his head rest on his forearms. The boy was reasonably sure he was dressed, though in truth he didn't care considering no one was awake before noon on his street. With that thought in mind Riku inhaled and let his eyes flutter closed.

What felt like five seconds later, the annoying voice Riku had _just_ gotten rid of was trying to penetrate his skull again. "Riiiku! Wake up already!" the sixteen-year-old furrowed his brow as what felt like the toe of a tennis shoe buried itself between his ribs. He grunted and rolled over, forcing his eyes open and grimacing as sunlight flooded his senses. Sora stood next to him, a goofy grin lighting his features as he bent forward and continued to nudge Riku with his foot. "C'mon man, if you don't hurry up we won't be able to get any ice-cream." Riku didn't even _want_ ice-cream, but he still grabbed the hand Sora had offered and used it as leverage to pull himself off the floor.

Moments later Riku found himself being pulled through the door of his room and out of his house. He sluggishly moved his feet in rhythm with Sora's as colors bled by his peripheral vision and made him dizzy. Riku trained his eyes on the concrete and watched it speed by while the younger boy pulled him into the street with disturbing ease. As abruptly as he'd started Sora halted, forcing a surprised and slightly disoriented Riku to slam into his back. "Umph!" he groaned as he wrenched his hand from Sora's and sneered, "Give me some warning next time." The younger boy only nodded before concentrating on the large white truck that was approaching them from down the street. Riku could hear the soft chiming melody that sounded from the horn atop the truck, as a child he had looked forward to this song every morning. A nostalgic happiness laced through his chest as the truck stopped in front of them.

The driver of the truck looked morbidly obese as he lumbered from his chair and shuffled into the refrigerated part of the car where the ice-cream was. An instant later he hiked up the small aluminum flap on the side and let the two boys consult a menu of flavors. "What'll it be?"

Sora's eyes gleamed as he inspected his options. He hadn't changed at all, except now Riku didn't have to pick him up so he could see over the counter. "I'm thinking chocolate," a smug smile filtered over his features, "and make it a double."

"Ohh! Aren't _you_ being adventurous?" Riku said sarcastically before looking up at the heavy man and ordering a single dipped vanilla cone. The man scrapped their ice-cream out from two different boxes and then handed it to them. Sora grudgingly paid for both and the boys watched as the truck restarted its child-friendly theme and plodded down the road.

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Sora spun towards his friend and exclaimed, "Wanna go eat on the dock like we used to?" the boy didn't wait for an answer as he swung in the direction of the beach and started off. Riku shook his head and followed.

The two erupted from the trees and stumbled into the sand, Sora in the lead and Riku following behind. The younger of the two held his cone lovingly as he yelled over her should, "I bet I can get there faster then you!" he started running at full speed towards the rickety wooden dock they had spent so many days on. Riku scoffed at the challenge and doubled his speed, intent of putting his smaller friend to shame. Neck and neck, the platinum haired boy stuck his tongue out and took the lead, leaving Sora to sputter and force his muscles into over-drive. "Don't think it'll be that easy!" he yelled as he sprang from behind Riku to in front of him with ease, "Eat my dust!" the boy added as they both clattered up the wooden steps. Riku pushed forward at the last second and the boys lurched onto the first plank of the deck together. "I win," Sora said, his chest heaving as he gulped down a lungful of the salty tropical air.

"It was a tie." Riku gasped, his own chest burning as he tried to breathe evenly. Sora snorted indignantly and began to amble towards the end of the dock. The friends sat down together, letting their legs hang off the side and swing in the open air. "This brings back memories…" Riku thought out loud, bringing his cone to his lips and licking at the sweet vanilla scoop. Sora nodded, letting his own tongue wander over the creamy chocolate mound he held. The summer heat floated around them and began to prematurely melt their frozen treats into sticky messes. Riku held his cone carefully, making sure the lightly colored dribbles of ice-cream did not manage to drip onto his fingers where it would inevitably dry and make everything stick to him.

Sora apparently didn't think so far ahead. He held the cone in his fist and tried to catch the drips of chocolate with his mouth before they hit his hand; whenever he missed he merely licked the sticky substance off his fingers before it could dry. Riku took a bite from his cone, chewing it appreciatively as he watched Sora entertaining himself with his silly little game. The older teen swallowed and stated, "You look stupid doing that," making the other pause, his coral pink tongue still touching his thumb. Azure eyes trained onto Riku's face, as if searching for something under his skin, but only managing to make the boy thoroughly uncomfortable. Riku turned away after a second and cast his gaze towards the horizon; he watched Sora shrug from his peripheral vision before the boy went back to lapping chocolate off his fingers.

Things were quite as Riku munched on his cone and Sora made a mess of himself; they both enjoyed the warmth of the sun as it spread through the sky and sparkled over the aqua waves. The younger boy finally finished his cone; he sucked on each of his fingers before wiping his cheeks on the back of his hands to make sure all excess splotches of chocolate were removed. After his grooming session Sora turned to his friend, the same examining look twinkling in his eyes. Riku, who had managed to keep his ice-cream from getting everywhere, did not acknowledge that he could see the younger boy staring at him; something about the way Sora was gauging him put him on edge. Finally the brunette cleared his throat, forcing Riku to glance at him. The calculating glint was still there.

"I wanted to tell you…" Sora's voice sounded strained as he let his head sag into his chest. Riku's throat seized up. His legs suddenly felt like chunks of lead swinging over the ocean. Everything about this moment sent warning sirens off throughout his body. He knew that tone of voice; that was the tone Sora had used two years ago when his mother had been considering moving in land, it was the same tone as when he had ruefully informed Riku that he was going to be moved into AP classes, it was the voice he used every time something was coming between their friendship. The older boy was so busy panicking he almost missed his friends next words; "Kairi and I are going out."

Oh. So that was it.

Riku didn't understand why Sora was sounding so strained if that was all, without thinking he hopped from his place on the dock and shouted gleefully, "That great Sora!" anything to wipe that distressed look off of the normally happy-go-lucky boy's face. Sora looked shocked for a moment before a smile carved into his features.

"You mean it? You're not mad?" the brunette questioned, watching as Riku plopped back onto the dock and swung his legs over the side.

"Why would I be mad?" Riku asked, furrowing his brow in true curiosity.

Sora flushed, "Well, you know…" he intertwined his fingers in his lap and watched them intently, "With you and your girlfriend breaking up… you've seemed really off lately and I was just thinking you might get angry."

That didn't make any sense, but Riku nodded anyways. "Well, I'm not. You've wanted to ask Kairi out for a long time," he punched Sora playfully in the arm, "It's about time you got a girlfriend."

The brunette went even redder, if possible. He nudged Riku back before returning his gaze to the horizon, "Well, that's a load of my chest." Riku nodded, suddenly wishing he had gotten a double scoop so he had something to chew on. He let his gaze wander past Sora and over the ocean, the magnetic pull of its tides holding his attention so intimately that he didn't notice his friend stand until the boy was walking away and saying, "I promised Kairi I'd meet her for lunch, catch 'ya later."

'_Later indeed._' Riku thought, the sour feeling from last night lacing through his chest as he watched the tide; he was going to be the third wheel from now on.

* * *

"What are your policies on sex?"

Sora and Kairi had met at the local Smoothie Shop. They sat in a secluded area at a small round table and sipped their drinks while discussing the different boundaries of their relationship. Sora had been at ease with the conversation up until Kairi had asked that particular question and sent him into sputtering speechlessness. Once he had recovered some of his literacy the boy sheepishly wiped up drops of the smoothie he had spit on the table and stuttered, "S-sex?" he paused to gulp the lump in his throat down, "Why?"

Kairi flushed, color staining her cheeks and spreading all the way to her roots until she resembled her strawberry drink. "Well," she stuffed the tip of her straw into her mouth and nipped at it thoughtfully, "We're just, you know, _at that age_, and I wanted to know how you felt about **it**." At Sora's awestruck face she quickly added, "W-we don't have to _do it_, I mean, just…" the girl was positively glowing.

Sora sipped at his own vanilla chocolate swirled shake as a million different thoughts swarmed his brain at once. What if this was some kind of test, or a girl thing where if he answered wrong she'd dump him. What if she was _serious_, what happened if she _wanted_ to do it; did they jump in bed together with even going on a proper diner-date? Sora suddenly wished he had asked Riku to come along; his older friend would know the answer, he knew everything. The brunette quickly reprimanded himself, if he had asked Riku along Kairi never would have brought sex up: threes a crowd. "I… don't know. I've never really thought about it." Okay, that was a lie. Sora might be more innocent then most guys his age, but he was still a fifteen-year-old _boy_. He had entertained more then his fair share of fantasies about his redheaded friend - no, _girlfriend_. The word sent butterflies through his stomach.

"Oh, that's… cool. So, where do you want to go for lunch?" Kairi asked, gripping a stand of her cherry hair and twirling it around her fingers.

"Somewhere with lots of people…" Sora muttered under his breath.

"What?"

"Nothing!" the brunette slurped the last drops of his drink down and grinned comically.

* * *

Sora knocked anxiously on the rich oak stained front door of Riku's house. No answer, but that wouldn't deter him. More knocking, more waiting, and what felt like eons later the door squeaked open and Sora came face to face with his friend's frazzled looking mother. She wore a bath robe and her hair was in curlers; it was obvious she'd been up reading by the small paper back book she held at her side. Her worried expression turned to one of confusion and anger as she recognized the abnormally spiky head of her son's best-friend.

"Can I see Riku?" Sora didn't waste any time, he was on a mission.

Riku's mother looked back into the house; probably at the large wall-clock they have hanging in their entryway. "Sora, do you know what time it is?" She's easy to predict. Typical house-wife and full-time-mother, Sora had always liked her, she's the complete opposite of his own mother; a work-o-holic who comes home once a week and was the current reason Sora so desperately needed to see his best friend.

"It's twelve-fifteen. I know it's late but this is urgent."

She didn't miss the note of hysteria in his voice. Without argument she opened the door and stepped back, "I want you gone by twelve-thirty… and tell Riku to go to bed once you leave." Sora nodded and turned to thank her, instead catching sight of her book's cover: a shirtless man who looked disturbingly like Fabio cradling a naked dark haired beauty into his exposed chest. Immediately his conversation with Kairi sprang into mind, and instead of thanking her he rushed down the hallway and into Riku's room.

"Why is everyone so obsessed with sex?" Sora asked as he pulled the door open and stepped inside. He let the train of thought briefly distract him from the news his mother had given him; people really were going crazy. Riku… Kairi… it was like some kind of procreative disease was taking over everyone around him. Riku was lying on his bed and flipping through a magazine, the moment Sora burst through the door he gave out a surprised squeak and flipped off the bed, dragging his magazine with him and stuffing it behind his back.

"Why are you here?" he yelped, Sora didn't fail to notice that Riku was trying to discreetly shove the magazine under his butt.

"Wha'd'ya got there, Riku?" he asked, a suggestive grin melting over his features like butter. Of course, Sora already knew _what it is_; Riku steals from his father's Playboy collection every now and then, but its still fun to watch the ashamed blush that blotches over his friend's cheekbones when he gets caught. "Wow, people really _are_ obsessed, huh?" he added salt to the wound.

"Seriously, why are you here…" Riku expertly changed the topic; you wouldn't have known he was embarrassed at all if it wasn't for the slight coloration of his otherwise perfect creamy cheeks.

As entertaining making fun of Riku was, Sora had bigger fish to fry. "My mom called, 'says she has to go on a business trip and that I've got to go with her." He flushed, "Apparently I'm not responsible enough to stay home. But…" he sent Riku a desperate glance, "You know how much I hate going on trips with her… and she said the only way I can possible stay is to convince your parents to let me stay here." Riku's head snapped up at that, he stared at Sora with a comical expression over his features until finally saying,

"You want to stay_here_? Sorry buddy, but I don't think I can stand your company for any lengthened period of time." _Plus you're a bed-hog_, he added mentally. Sora pushed his lower lip out an imitated a pout before skipping across the room and literally jumping on his seated friend.

"Please! I'll be good, I promise!" Sora then threw his arms around his shocked friend's neck and added, "Super good! I'll clean your room and everything!"

"Tempting…" Riku said sarcastically while trying to untangle himself from the mess of limbs that he passed off as a best friend. After being poked in the eye twice by flailing body parts, Riku lost his patience, "Get _off_ me!" He yelled and shoved at Sora's chest.

"Not until you promise to ask you mom!" the brunette replied, tightening his grip around the older boy's neck.

"Fine! Jesus, I can't breathe Sora!" Satisfied, Sora released his death grip from Riku's neck and scuttled across the carpet just in time to avoid the fist Riku sent after him. Sora collapsed onto the carpet and sent a glance at his silently fuming friend. Riku's face scrunched up in curiosity before he looked back at Sora and asked, "About that sex comment… What did you mean?"

Sora shot up from the carpet, eyes snapping open as he bounced to his feet and yelped, "Oh my _god_!" He waved his arms around energetically, "I can't believe I almost forgot to tell you!" the brunette jumped back towards Riku and stopped seconds from impact, instead bending down and staring his friend straight in the eye. "When I went to lunch with Kairi… She asked me my views on sex." Sora squatted back onto the carpet and slouched slightly, "It was mortifying, I had no idea what to say…" azure eyes traveled up to Riku's face, "I kept wishing I could call and ask you what to do." He placed the tip of his thumb between his lips and gnawed on the nail; a nervous habit he'd never outgrown. "Was it some kind of girl-test?"

"I don't know," Riku replied casually, locking his arms behind his head and leaning back, "Did she tell you what she thought about it?"

Sora shrugged, continuing to nibble his nail, "All she said was that we're '_at that age_'."

"And what'd you say?" the older of the two asked, not bothering to open his eyes.

"I don't know; it was all a blur."

"Well, it sounds to me like she wants to if you do," Riku said, opening one aquamarine eye to watch in satisfaction as a scarlet blush sprang to Sora's cheeks and made him resemble a strawberry. The brunette buried his face in his hands and mumbled,

"I-I can't do _that_, I don't even know how to kiss so how the **hell** am I supposed to…" the rest of his sentence was too smothered by his hands to be comprehensible.

Riku stared quizzically at his friend, prompting the flushed boy to glance up, "What do you mean 'I don't know how to kiss'? I've seen you and Kairi kiss before, and you looked like you were doing just fine to me."

Sora dropped his face back into his hands, "Every time I've kissed her I've been drunk, I never remember a thing besides what you _tell_ me…" He suddenly lifted his face slightly and stared in horror at his hands, "Oh my god! What do I do with my **hands**?!" the brunette cradled his head and rocked back and forth repeating, "I'm so screwed, I'm so screwed…"

Riku raised an eyebrow and resisted the incredibly tempting urge to say, _you're so NOT screwed with that attitude_. Even he had enough common sense not to stress his smaller friend out any more. "It's okay… Just ask Kairi to teach you-"

"**NO**!!" Sora screeched, dropping his arms from his head and shuffling onto his knees, "When I kiss her, I want her to be awed… Not to have to tell me what to do." He sighed, "That's just embarrassing."

"Okay, plan B." Riku said, running an inquisitive finger back and forth over his jaw. "Just ask a friend to teach you!"

"A... Friend…" Sora repeated incredulously.

The older teen drew his eyebrows together as if in deep thought before saying, "Yeah, a friend. You know; someone you'd be comfortable with."

Sora's stomach knotted itself together, clenching involuntarily as an array of emotions filtered through him at once. Was Riku… offering? '_No. Riku would never do that…_' Would he? Sora fell back into the carpet and watched Riku closely, no hints of a blush, no awkward movements, nothing. He looked as if they had been talking about the weather instead of something intensely personal.

_Someone I'm comfortable with…_

_But…_

"I…" Sora began, butterflies squirming throughout his entire body. "I-"

"Sora." Riku's mother was standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and her fluffy pink bathrobe slightly opened to reveal green pajamas. Sora's heart leapt into his throat, had she heard their conversation? "Its twelve thirty-three and you're still in my house." He took a moment to thank god.

"Right…" the spiky haired boy struggled to his feet and glanced back down at Riku, he was still leaning back against his bed and watching Sora with a foreign expression on his face. "Don't forget to ask." He reminded before walking towards the door, he stepped through and continued down the hallway without saying goodbye. As Sora opened the familiar oak front door, one thought circled through his mind.

_The only person I'm comfortable with…_

_Is Riku._

* * *

**Post A/N**: AHHH! I seriously thought I would never finish this chapter. But Yay! We're finally uncovering bits of the plot, so clap for yourself if you've made it through my incredibly boring framework chapters! The real story (not that there's much of one) begins in the next chapter, so be happy!

Okay, I completely hate this chapter with every fiber of my being! Its pure evil and needs to be hit with a large wooden pole. The only things I even SLIGHTLY like are the last two lines, because they were a thrill to write and imagine. So yes, Questions to ask yourself while you wait for the next chapter:

#1 – Was Riku actually offering to teach Sora to kiss?

#2 – If so, Will Sora take him up on that offer?!

#3 – What's up with the Sora and Kairi relationship?  
#4 - Why the heck is this insane author giving us weird questions to think about??

OKAY! Until next time.

(If I actually find my muse!!)


	3. Chapter 3

**Pre A/N**: I found this on my computer and was oddly interested in finishing it. I guess I really just want to clear out any... incriminating files I might have, Oh well. I'm not sure how long it will take... But I've decided yes, I AM going to finish this story; reviews or no. Writing is a passion and though I truly love hearing other people's thoughts on my work, I realize now that should never have been my main reason to write. So beginning here, I'm telling you a story. I'd still love input, but I'm not letting that control my updating rate or plot. I've become oddly determined that I will finish this book even if I'm the only person who likes it. So, without any further adieu I bring you…

**Winning in Third Place**

Chapter 3

Ghostly sapphire light filtered through a half-opened Persian style window. The softest of winds came with it, ruffling baby-blue curtains as it entered a small square bedroom and washed over the lounging form of a teenage boy. Sora unconsciously leaned into the weak current, welcoming the cool it brought to his sweat-damp skin. It was another night in paradise; another blistering hot night of sticky tropical air saturated with humidity that stuck to the skin like glue. His ceiling fan was doing little more than churning up the heat, but Sora was so engrossed in his own thoughts that even the bead of sweat that had fallen from his chin and was currently following a lazy path towards his chest couldn't distract him.

_Just ask a friend…_

_Someone you're comfortable with…_

Sora burrowed further back into his pillow, arms tucked lazily behind his head as he dissected every possible meaning he could from those two sentences. _What had he meant_? The brunette continued to ask himself, Riku's voice bouncing though his skull as he replayed the entire scene through his mind.

That was another thing: what about the expression on Riku's face? Sora had never been looked at like that before, never been subjected to such an intense calculating stare. It made his stomach flutter just thinking about it, and every time he thought of it, it felt more as if Riku had been trying to look through him then at him. Sora shivered despite the fact that it was so hot he had removed his shirt an hour ago. "I want to know…" he said to his ceiling, voice drifting though the stagnate air and disappearing into the shadows of night. For the first time since he had stumbled into his room and flopped onto his bed, Sora shifted his position so that he was flat on his stomach and able to look out his window.

Riku's lights were on.

"What did you mean?" Sora whispered, as if some unknown force of nature would carry his voice across the lawn and into his neighbor's ears. Another soft burst of air gushed from his opened window and spilt over his face, causing his gravity-defiant locks to sway slightly before the breeze died and all was still again. "What did you mean?!" Sora hissed, louder this time but still minute. He cursed and rolled over, cradling his head between his forearms and rocking back and forth. He was never going to get to sleep like this.

He would lay awake all night, and then tomorrow he would see Riku and pretend nothing was wrong. Sora would bury this entire episode away within the compounds of his mind and never speak of it again.

It was a good plan.

It would work.

_It's not enough!_ Sora stopped rocking and went limp, eyes staring blankly at his bedroom wall. _I want to know_…

And he would. With the single intention of finding out what the hell Riku had meant running through his brain, Sora rolled from his bed and awkwardly planted his feet on the ground. He groped the floor to find his loose fitting pajama top, and once his fingers wrapped around it he slid the smooth silk material over his shoulders without bothering to hook the buttons together. It wasn't until Sora had one leg hanging comically out his window that common sense caught up with him. What if Riku **had** been offering, what then? He couldn't kiss his best friend, even if it was just meaningless practice. That was just, well, **wrong**. It went against everything he had been taught his entire life, and…

Whatever other arguments he had died when Riku's lights shut off. Sora didn't have time to worry: once Riku laid down he fell asleep almost immediately. Nope, no time for worrying, he would have to save that for later. Instead, the brunette twisted the rest of his body out from his window and onto the lawn. The early morning dew dampened his feet and collected uncomfortably between his toes as he crept across the grass. A few steps later Sora was raising his fingers to tap on the glass.

A quiver in his stomach stopped them before they could touch the window.

Why had it suddenly felt like Riku wouldn't open it for him? Riku had always answered, and that night shouldn't have been any different. But Sora remained frozen, fingers hanging uneasily in mid-air._ This is stupid,_ he scolded himself; _Riku always lets me in._

"Always," he muttered, but instead of bringing his fingers down on the glass he shifted his weight and used it as leverage to wrench the window open. It popped up with surprising ease. Sora held it up and stepped inside, the second his feet touched Riku's carpet he turned around and closed it.

"Sora?" Riku questioned, sitting up from the comfort of his bed and resting on his elbows as he watched the silhouetted figure close his window. There was no real question about who it was, Riku knew that spiky head of hair anywhere, even if he couldn't see the childish face that accompanied it. Sora didn't turn around; he remained slightly hunched with his hands still on the windowsill. His body felt like lead, his limbs trembled and suddenly standing took all of his concentration. The younger boy clenched his fists in annoyance; it was pitiful that whatever resolve he had worked up had been shattered by a single word. "Sora…" Riku said again, lifting the comforter from his body and shifting to get out of the bed.

The rustle of sheets made every hair on Sora's body stand at attention and he froze. "Ngh," He groaned, tightening his fists until the pain of nails biting into flesh brought him back to reality. "What did you mean?" he uttered just loud enough to stop Riku from standing. When no reply came he asked the question again, louder.

"About what?" the older boy asked, settling back down onto his uncovered bed.

Sora spun around, moonlight from the window hit his back and cascaded around him in a way that it made him appear celestial. Whatever self-conscious laugh Riku had been about to make died in his throat as Sora's seemingly luminescent eyes traveled up to his face. "Earlier…" Sora took a hesitant step forward, eyes never leaving his friend's features. "When you said I should get a friend to teach me…" he tilted his head to the right, diverting his gaze from Riku's, "Someone I'm comfortable with. Were you…" Sora's stomach twisted, it took all of his will power to utter the next word. "Offering?"

Riku remained quiet, examining the silhouette that was his best friend. The air suddenly tasted thick, and breathing it choked him. This moment was way too intense for his liking, so Riku laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his skull. "C'mon now Sora, aren't you being a little too-"

"Were you?" Sora cut him off, whipping his face around to stare.

Riku gaped. The moonlight from his window wrapped Sora up completely and cast murky shadows over his face. Still, Sora's eyes pierced through the darkness and remained focused on him. "I…" he began, not sure what answer the younger male was looking for. Adrenalin pumped through his system, making his heart thump so wildly against his ribs that Riku was amazed Sora didn't seem to hear it. "This is stupid." He said, lacing anger through his voice to try and hide the anxiety. "You can't just let yourself in my room late at night only to ask such silly questions."

Instead of taking the bait and arguing back, Sora merely nodded and turned around towards the window. It **had** been silly to come here. He should have known better than to think Riku would answer such a personal question. He bent forward to slide the glass up again, but instead of gripping the windowpane his fists seized up and he stood frozen just like before. _I don't want to leave_… Suddenly Sora felt as if he was floating outside his body watching his lips move of their own accord.

"Teach me." It was a whisper, much too quiet for Riku to hear, but it still caught the older boy's attention. The platinum haired teen watched as his friend stood from opening the window and turned towards him in one graceful stride. Much to Sora's horror his body spoke louder this time, "Teach me."

Riku sputtered, sure his ears were malfunctioning. "Are you **serious**?" He questioned, unconsciously scooting back on his bed as Sora took a step forward.

"Yeah, why not? It's not like it means anything…" the brunette was amazed that his voice came out so smooth, instead of quivering like the rest of his body was. "It's just practice," he wished he was a sure as he sounded. Sora could sense his heart running a rampage through his chest; he literally felt his blood pumping through the millions of veins and capillaries that made up his entire existence.

_This is the part where you laugh…_

_Please god, don't laugh. _

Sora didn't think he could handle Riku cracking a joke about this or mocking him; he was already embarrassed as hell, and he didn't need salt added to the wound.

"Okay," Riku's voice penetrated Sora's panicking mind. Sora winced, the significance of the word not sinking in until a second later. His head shot up and he stared wide-eyed at his icy-haired friend.

"S-Seriously?" It was Sora's turn to be flabbergasted. The two switched roles almost instantly as Riku stood from his bed and Sora stumbled back towards the window.

"Haven't lost your nerve already, have you?" The older male questioned, raising an eyebrow and accompanying it was an arrogant smirk.

The brunette fumed, clenching his fists at his sides and hissing, "No!" before stomping across the room and stopping in front of his taller friend. Sora craned his head up, fixing a 'do-your-worst' glare at Riku. Riku simply smiled before raising a hand to his face and outlining his jaw, apparently lost in thought. The older teen let his hands move of their own accord, gliding forward and tracing his friend's ear before slopping down and rubbing Sora's lower lip. "It won't be exactly the same with Kairi since I'm taller than you, while you two are about the same height," he pointedly ignored the way Sora's eye were lulling shut, "But… Just try to do similar things as I'm about to."

Sora could practically feel his blood pressure rising. "First," continued Riku, "You guys have to get _real_ close." He did just that, inching forward slowly until their chests were touching. The younger teen was suddenly reminded that his pajama top was undone as he felt the folds of Riku's shirt pressing firmly onto his chest and setting it on fire; he repressed a gasp. "Then," Riku said, his voice taking on a breathy tone, "Lean in slowly, making sure to hold the back of her neck or head softly." Again, he followed his own instructions as the thumb previously resting on Sora's lower lip made a deliciously slow line over the boy's jaw and to the base of his neck. Riku spread his fingers out, letting the appendages slowly work their way into the younger boy's scalp before massaging it lightly. That was enough to make Sora's tongue unconsciously dart out over his bottom lip. Riku leaned closer, still speaking, "The rest is pretty natural. Just be sure to tilt you're head so you don't bump noses and then…"

Their lips touched.

And like a chain reaction, every nerve in Sora's body went into overdrive. He could feel Riku's shag carpet between his toes, he could feel the air from the fan lulling slowly overhead, but he was most conscious of anything belonging to his elder friend that was touching him. Their chests, their lips, the hand held firmly at the base of his skull. Each brush of skin or fabric sent ripples of heat all through Sora's body, making him wither at the foreign sensation that started in his stomach and pumped through his veins like a drug. Then, as if he didn't already feel a thousand needles prickling his body, Riku began to move his lips. Sora's eyes snapped open, training on his friend's face and widening when he saw Riku's paper-thin milky lids had fallen shut and there was a slight crease between his brows.

"You have to move your lips back, or this is pointless," Riku mumbled against Sora's mouth, oblivious to the state of astonishment Sora was in. The younger teen nodded numbly before letting his eyes close and pushing his lips into his friend's softly. Immediately the hand behind his head tightened, gripping his hair in a way that managed to be both pleasing and painful at the same time. It certainly sent waves of heat down Sora's spine. Moments later Riku's other hand wound its way to the younger male's neck and pulled him closer; the distance between the two boys disappearing completely.

After a few moments Sora began to feel apprehensive. Since the first second their lips had touched – maybe even before that, Sora had been fighting the urge to wrap his arms around his friend. Currently said limbs were dangling limply at his sides, his hands balled into tight, white-knuckled fists to keep his traitorous body from moving on its own.

Riku had not told him to embrace him, therefore Sora would not. But god, the urge to do so! It was overwhelming, initiating a tingle that started in his fingers and soon enveloped his entire arm. Sora was almost tempted to stop the entire kiss just to ask if he could just give in, but (a) he didn't want to sound inexperienced – even if he was, and (b) there was no way he could say, "_Can I touch you?_" without laughing and ruining the entire mood. It was becoming quite a predicament; that is until it occurred to Sora that kissing was supposed to come naturally, according to his new teacher. Maybe the sensation, the literal need to touch his friend was **supposed** to happen. Maybe he was **supposed** to be touching Riku. The moment the thought occurred to him, Sora hesitantly let his arms inch up the older boy's back until both appendages were thoroughly tangled in the thin fabric stretching over Riku's shoulder blades. The said teen grunted lowly before pulling his pupil even closer, if possible.

The two boys were practically cemented together now. Sora's hands were wandering rather jerkily over Riku's back; the boy was extremely relieved to find that the choice to embrace his friend was not scorned, and the action actually seemed to be appreciated. The feeling lasted a whole second before it was replaced with annoyance as Riku finally decided to remove his lips from Sora's.

That wasn't to say he moved his face away. Oh no, barely a hair's width remained between their lips while their chests heaved into each other as if both boys had just finished running a marathon. Riku wet his lips and said breathily, "You probably won't just… be kissing lips. You can kiss… other things…" He lowered his head and pressed his lips down at the base of Sora's neck, sending vibrations against the skin as he spoke, "Her neck and shoulders are good places," The younger boy had to repress another gasp as Riku showered the juncture between his neck and shoulder with light open-mouthed kisses. Sora leaned his head to the side for easier access as the heat from before intensified, joining with the odd twist in his stomach before both sensations began to relocate themselves undeniably _south_.

The brunette's eyes flew open; that _definitely_ wasn't supposed to happen. Especially when Riku was the one making it happen.

Sora's arms went limp, dropping from his friend's back and to his sides. He stood awkwardly like that for a moment before raising his limbs again and pressing his palms firmly into Riku's chest. He pushed away and stumbled back at the same time, somehow managing to make it to the window without turning around or tripping. Riku stood uncomfortably with one arm raised, one hanging limply at his side with his eyes wide and his mouth gaping slightly, not sure what to say. Sora didn't give him the chance. The young boy whirled towards the window and whipped it up. Over his shoulder he stuttered a quick "Thanks," before practically hurling himself out the small exit and high-tailing it back to the solace of his own home without even a glance over the shoulder.

"Ah…" Riku mumbled, mouth still gaping as he found himself suddenly alone. "That was… odd." He said to no one in particular, shaking his head lightly before finally having the sense to shuffle back to his bed and tuck himself into the soft linen sheets. As he lay there, he wondered if things between him and Sora would change. He honestly hadn't meant to get caught up or anything, the plan was to be quick and straight to the point… but Sora's lips were so soft, so warm and smooth and really just like a girl's lips.

Riku squashed that thought the second it was born, but a small jolt of electricity had already flown through his system and settled in his blood. Now getting to sleep would be almost impossible. The teen shifted onto his side and sighed, letting a boatload of frustration be expelled from his body as well. He was surprised when warm air was blown back at him; a humid tropical breeze that made his sheets stick to his skin uncomfortably was suddenly flowing through his room. Stupid Sora didn't close the window in his erratic attempt to put some distance between them.

At least that explained why it was so hot. For a second Riku had thought that maybe… Ah well; that didn't matter now anyways.

* * *

Sora managed to get across the lawn, through his window, and into his room all in just a few seconds. His breath came in short huffs as he pulled his window shut, whirled around, and leaned back with his arms stretching over the wall as if he himself had become a screen against whatever Riku had started. He stayed like that for a long time, lungs working at full capacity half because of exertion and half because of the kiss. Finally, after what felt like hours his mind and body began to ease, allowing the boy to slide down the wall until his legs were sprawled out over his floor while his arms continued to grope the wall for support. He dipped his head back, eyes at half-mast and mouth open just enough to allow deep breathing. Eventually Sora let his arms fall to his sides and his head lull down into his chest.

As he sat there in a boneless heap, he wondered how Riku was reacting.

It had been stupid to respond so sporadically now that he thought about it. Really, he was the one who asked Riku to teach him, not the other way around. It was just; Sora had only felt that indescribable heat pool in his groin a few times throughout his short life. Once when he was twelve and barely into puberty, and Riku had thought that introducing Sora to his first porno would be the best initiation into "guy-hood". The younger boy didn't even really understand sex (besides what he knew from health class) and was thoroughly confused as to what was going on until suddenly he was feeling queasy and his stomach was twisting up. He'd gone home and just sat there until the sensation went away, and he'd made sure _never_ to watch porn again. Another time was around age thirteen when he first took notice of his infatuation with Kairi. The day after he had come to terms with the fact that he was defiantly feeling more than friendly compassion towards her she had invited both the boys to the beach. He hadn't expected her to strip down right in front of him, and as a result had had to run into the ocean at top speed to avoid a very awkward and embarrassing incident.

Riku still sometimes teased him about it.

There were a few other incidents; a dream about a girl from school he didn't know, the morning after Kairi's fourteenth birthday party when he had a quick flash of what they had done the night before. Those hadn't been as intense as the first two times, and the first two times very seriously rivaled the sensations that he had felt tonight… the sensations he was _still_ feeling.

Sora sighed, wondering what was wrong with him. Eventually his body calmed itself enough for the boy to press his hands into the wall and use it as leverage to pull himself into a standing position. He chanced a quick glace out of his window and was surprised to find Riku's was open. The brunette shook his head lightly and pulled his baby blue curtains together, efficiently blocking out any crystalline moonlight that might wander into his room. Sora let the curtains hold his attention for a moment, they swayed slightly from the light current his overhead fan made and were quite mesmerizing. Once it occurred to him that he was **staring at curtains **the younger boy sighed again, more forcefully this time, and pinched the bridge of his nose. He ambled a few feet to the left and let his body drop into the mess of pillows and sheets that made up his bed like a pile of stones. He stayed that way, face smothered in cotton sheets and legs dangling onto the floor until finally a cramp in his neck forced him to shimmy the rest of the way onto the bed and roll over on his back.

Azure eyes trained themselves onto the ceiling, losing themselves in the pictures and patterns that were molded there in the plaster. Sora shook his head, lifting an arm and depositing it over his eyes. He eventually fell asleep in that position, breathing smoothly with his mouth slightly ajar and his head tilted to the side.

His last conscious thought before surrendering himself to the ever tempting blankness of rest was, _I'm going to have to talk to Riku._

And then he was gone.

_Sora stood alone on a beach. It was dark out, like nighttime had taken over the world and even the moon couldn't supply enough light to make anything visible. He could hear the waves crashing, could feel the sand beneath his feet and between his toes; he even tasted salt each time the wind would pick up. The young boy walked forward, moving towards the sound of the ocean on impulse. _

_"Sora-!" Someone called from his left. _

_"Sora!" Someone called from his right. _

_He continued moving forward, ignoring the voices as they reached out to him from the sand itself and grabbed onto his feet. "Hey Sora, check this out!" He heard on his left. The brunette instinctively turned in that direction, surprised to find that even though everything else around him was pitch black he could see a ten-year-old Riku waving around a seashell as clear as day. Sora tilted his head in confusion but moved closer, smiling at his friend. Suddenly he found himself smaller, younger, an eight-year-old again. He examined his small hands and wiggled his tiny toes before continuing towards Riku. _

_A hand grabbed him from behind. "Hey Sora! Don't you want to play with me instead?" Kairi was standing there, still fifteen and still beautiful, her smile was wide and her eyes were shining in the light from some unseen sun. "Yeah, Yeah – Let's go play!" She urged, pulling at his arm. _

_"I," he began, but was cut off when an undetected hand grabbed his other arm and began pulling. _

_"Let's eat ice-cream on the dock," Riku chimed, suddenly sixteen again. "I'll race you," He added, tugging harder. _

_Sora pulled his arms out of their reach easily and began running towards the ocean. For some reason he had to make it to the body of water. From behind he heard Kairi call out and Riku laughing, and then he was aware that they were chasing him. He ran faster, keeping himself only a step ahead of them. He could feel their hands grazing his back and their voices floating against the wind and into his ears. _

_"Stop running from us Sora," They said in unison. _

_And then he could see the water, shining so brightly it hurt his eyes. He didn't stop running though; a moment before his toes touched the white seawater two hands clamped firmly onto his back, but they were too late. Sora's foot touched the glowing water and everything around him exploded and reshaped itself into a different scene. He found himself wobbling on the edge of a dock before losing his balance and tumbling into the ocean. The water engulfed his head and dumped him into a movie theatre. He was sitting in a soaking wet red-cushioned chair next to Kairi. She smiled at him, and then their lips were pressed together. He didn't close his eyes; instead he watched the redhead's face as she moved her lips against his. _

_Someone yelled his name; Sora turned curiously to the large screen in front of him and was surprised to see a hooded figure holding a gun and pointing in right at him. The brunette didn't even have time to scream before a large bang filled his ears and he was flying backwards from the impact. _

_He flew right into Riku's wall and crumbled forward onto his friend's bed. The teen in question did not seem that surprised to see him, Riku simply lifted his eyes from his magazine and smiled, saying, "Oh, there you are." He stood and walked towards the bed while Sora twisted himself into a sitting position. The platinum haired teen raised an eyebrow; stopping only inches in front of the other male before lowering himself so they could see eye to eye. "You know," He began, voice holding absolutely no emotion, "I can teach you a lot more…" _

_Sora found himself being pushed into Riku's mattress. Slightly chapped lips were pressing themselves onto his mouth while calloused hands removed the already unbuttoned pajama top from the younger boy's body. It fell to the floor in a silken heap and suddenly Sora was kissing air while Riku was fervently showering his friend's abdomen with kisses. Again the younger boy did not close his eyes. He watched in interest as Riku dipped a soft pink tongue into his belly-button. He couldn't feel the sensation; it was as if Sora was floating outside of his body watching the entire scene. Riku mumbled something unintelligible against Sora's navel and just as a rough hand breached the elastic waistband of the younger boy's bottoms everything exploded into blinding white light._

Sora gave a cry and jerked up from the mess of his sheets. He held himself in a sitting position; eyes and mouth open wide as his chest heaved up and down with each frenzied breath he took. After a second of mind numbing shock he wrenched his hands out from under the covers and immediately groped his face and hair, shoulders, chest and arms until finally reaching his pants. He gripped the waistband and was relieved to find that it was indeed still in place.

After taking a few calming breaths Sora finally glanced around his bedroom and was quite surprised to find a hazy grey light had penetrated his curtains and lit up his room with an early morning glow. He quickly looked up at the clock above his door:

7:18 A.M.

Sora groaned, letting himself fall back into the pillows. He didn't understand how it was even possible to be awake this early, especially considering how exhausted he had been the night before. The boy closed his eyes with the full intention of surrendering his mind back to sweet unconsciousness when a slight chiming noise reached his ears accompanied with minor vibrations against his back. One azure eye opened as Sora dug a hand under his covers and groped around blindly until gripping the object currently wedging itself between him and rest. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the screen:

1 message received.

Sora rolled his eyes and opened it, wincing as the phone dinged obnoxiously and light from the previously dark monitor flooded his face. The boy blinked a few times before squinting at the tiny screen.

Sender: Riku

Time received: 7:02 A.M.

Body:

We need 2 talk. Meet me at the swings at noon.

An uneasy seed buried itself in Sora's stomach. He didn't want to talk about last night. He didn't even want to _remember_ last night. Honestly, it was embarrassing enough that he shoved Riku away… but if he had to talk about **why**…

Sora cursed under his breath. Now that the memories were brought back to the surface there was no way he could get to sleep. He angrily threw his phone across the room and was satisfied to hear it crash into his wall; it didn't matter that if it broke he probably wouldn't get a new one for a while. The boy pulled himself into a sitting position and sighed; might as well get ready for another day in paradise.

* * *

Sora left his house at eleven thirty. The park was only a couple blocks away: merely ten minutes walking, if you were going slowly. Still, he had been restless all day. Waiting for noon to come rolling around so he could go embarrass himself was torture. It was like someone had taken all the clocks in his house and made them slower just for laughs. Sora really wasn't a patient person, so the moment the minute hand struck the half-hour he was out the door. 

It was wet outside. The skies were overcast; dreary weather in the Destiny Islands was uncommon but not completely unseen. By the time Sora was walking the familiar route to the park it was already drizzling, so the brunette walked with his head angled down and his eyes trained on the pavement under his shoes. Eventually the seas of creamy cement gave way to lush green grass; Sora looked up to find himself at the entrance to the town park. He immediately veered to the left, opting to travel under the cover of the thick canopy of trees that loomed over the well beaten path he had walked many times as a child. After only a minute he found himself stumbling through light vegetation and into a small clearing within which was a swing set. Sora was surprised to see Riku already there; the older boy had seated himself on a swing and was idly pushing himself back and forth.

"You're early," his friend's familiar voice reached his ears.

"You too," Sora shot back, stuffing his hands into his pockets and shuffling closer to the swings. Neither of them spoke for a while, not really sure what to say or how to say it. Eventually the younger boy cleared his throat, "About last night… Um…" he was tempted to say, '_Sorry for flipping out on you and running away like that', _but the words sounded silly even in his head.

"Yeah… that was… odd," Riku said, easily catching onto the uncomfortable note in his friend's voice. He continued to push himself, letting the constant movement of the swing distract him for a second.

Sora remained quiet too, watching his friend from off to the side. A moment of peace befell them before it was promptly broken by someone cursing lowly and shuffling around in the bushes. The brunette turned around just in time to see Kairi come tumbling out of the vegetation and into the clearing, still cursing and fumbling with her light pink dress. "They should really cut that stuff," She huffed while pulling a leaf out of her hair. The redhead looked up at the two boys in front of her and smiled, "Oh hey ,Riku, you're here too. That's good."

Riku was the first to stop gaping. "Kairi… what are you doing here??" He questioned, sending Sora an accusing glance.

"Oh," Kairi said, laughing and rubbing the back of her head. "I was actually planning on asking you guys if you wanted to go to the beach today, but you weren't home Riku and by the time I got to Sora's house he was already down the street. I guess it was a bad idea anyways seeing as it's probably going to rain soon, huh?" She stuck her palm out and caught a few raindrops for emphasis. Sora nodded dumbly, still in shock that had she come at any other time she might've heard about his and Riku's late night activities. "Anyways," Kairi continued, "I guess today isn't an option… but we can always go tomorrow, right?"

When neither boy immediately declined her offer the redhead smiled widely and said, "Good! It's set then. If the weather is better tomorrow we're all going to the beach." A low beep came from her wrist and caught the girl's attention. Kairi glanced at her watch and gasped, "Oh! It's already almost noon? I'm supposed to meet my mom for lunch." She was already half-way out the clearing when she stopped and turned around, "I think we should go around three, okay?" and then she disappeared into the weeds.

A moment of silence befell the two boys before Sora finally asked, "What just happened?"

"I'm not really sure…" Riku answered, he had stopped swinging and was simply staring after Kairi. A flash of lightning went through the sky, thunder booming at almost the exact same time. Almost immediately the light drizzle morphed into large drops of rain falling with surprising consistency. Riku cursed and hopped off the swing, he curled his arms over his head and shuffled under the nearest tree with Sora right behind him. The boys fell down into a boneless heap at the base of the large Oak and sat there, watching as the dirt quickly became mud in front of them. Sora looked up at Riku, the older teen's hair was sticking to his cheeks and sending drops of water down his neck while the younger boy's usually defiant locks had become soggy and were sagging down under the weight of the water. A second passed between them before Sora burst out laughing and Riku quickly joined him.

"Listen; let's just forget last night ever happened, okay?" Riku said, still chuckling. "Just don't forget what I taught you and you'll totally wow Kairi when you guys have your first **sober **kiss." Sora nodded; shoulders and abdomen still shaking consistently. The two sat there contently for a while before Riku finally stood and rolled his neck, "Well, now that we've got that cleared up I think I'll head home. I didn't get too much sleep last night." He set off from under the tree, but stopped right before he exited the protection of the leaves. He looked over his shoulder, eyes locking onto Sora's.

"By the way… my mom said you can stay with us."

* * *

**Post A/N:**

_Let me be the one who calls you baby  
All the time  
Surely you can take some comfort  
Knowing that you're mine  
Just hold me tight, lay by my side  
and let me be the one who calls you  
Baby all the time_

_I found my place in the world  
Could stare at your face for the rest of  
my days  
Now I can breathe, turn my insides out  
and Smother me  
Warm and alive I'm all over you  
would you smother me?_

_Let me be the one who never leaves  
You all alone  
I hold my breath and lose the feeling  
That I'm on my own (leaves me all alone)  
Hold me too tight stay by my side  
and let me be the one who calls you  
Baby all the time(all the time)_

**Smother me – The Used**: I played this song like, 15,000 times while writing this chapter. Needless to say my sister hates me for it:D I thoroughly suggest looking it up on YouTube. They have a Naruto/Gaara video for it that's very well done. It's what I was listening to!

(Now the real A/N):

This chapter was fun to write… well… parts of it were!! Like the kiss scene. FUFUFU. That was _really_ fun to write. I really want to thank everyone for their reviews! They really helped me stay focused and not wander off to watch TV every time something got hard. Oh, and of course a special thanks to WolfDemonRika for going as far as to comment on my deviantART. I feel really guilty for not posting or responding. Everyone else was wonderful too and I especially enjoyed the anonymous comment I got: It made me laugh. :D Thank you all so much for reading and I really really **really** hope you enjoyed this chapter. Lol, the next chapter will be great fun, 'ne? I see half-naked boys in this stories future!!!

Anyways I won't beg for reviews but they _really_ do help me stay focused! Again, thank you all.

'Till next time,

DCR.


	4. Chapter 4

**Pre A/N:** So many nice reviews! They make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. They also make my family worry about me, because every time I get one I run a couple laps around my living room and scream like a little girl. Anyways, I have a feeling this chapter will be hard to write, but I'll do my best and try to keep on truckin'. You guys are probably gonna hate me if I don't warn you… so… yes this chapter will be loaded with awkward but fun Riku/Sora moments, but I'm a realistic writer and I'm not going to make Kairi disappear, sorry. So… anyways… I'm hoping to have it done before school starts again because then I'll be losing a lot of my writing time. Actually, I hope I'm done by Saturday because my BETA can only really work on the weekends!!!! Hmm… Guess that means I should probably stop writing this a/n and start the actual chapter. Yes! Here we go…

* * *

**Winning in Third Place**

Chapter Four

* * *

Sora sat at his desk, scribbling violently with a mechanical pencil onto a practically blank sheet of paper. It was already two-thirty and this was the last of his summer assignment: chapter summaries. He had been working since noon; with his mother gone on her trip it had seemed like a good idea to finish all his work and really enjoy the last of his summer. 

He continued jotting away. After a particularly long sentence he sat back in his chair and stretched, eyes closed and back arched.

_A soft pink tongue dipped into his belly-button._

Sora sat forward quickly, eyes popping open in alarm. He shook his head angrily and massaged his temples, dropping the pencil onto the desk in annoyance. This had been happening all day. Every time he let his mind wander he was suddenly reliving that dream; suddenly remembering every little detail as if it had really happened. That made focusing really hard. In fact, it made **everything** really hard. Sora glanced down before shifting his legs uncomfortably and gulping, he didn't like the direction his thoughts were taking. He knocked himself upside the head and sighed. _Focus Sora, you're almost done_; he reminded himself, picking up the pencil again.

Ten minutes found him balancing the pencil on his nose.

"This is so boring!" He complained to no one, eyes crossing as he watched the pencil delicately wiggle as if about to fall. He dipped his head forward and caught it before glancing at the wall-clock to his left. Only twenty minutes until he was supposed to meet Kairi and Riku at the beach, and his paper was no more than half complete. Sora huffed and pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing momentarily as he tried to regain his drive.

All he found was Riku's hand wandering down his pants.

"God! Can I not even**blink** anymore?!" Sora yelled, throwing his arms out in emphasis. He huffed for a few minutes before breathing deeply to calm himself. Right now he had to focus on his homework; he could try and dissect the dream later.

The boy ended up fudging the last of his paper, writing simple summaries that a grade-schooler could have done. With only ten minutes left he quickly sprang from his chair and ripped his pajamas off, scrounging around the room for his swim trunks and finding them underneath a particularly large pile of laundry. He sniffed them and cringed, but slipped them on anyways before grabbing a beach towel up from his floor and vacating the room at a full run. He made sure to slip the towel around his waist before pulling open his front door and heading strait towards the beach.

* * *

It was dreary again today. Overhead was grey, the clouds promised precipitation, and the sun was no where to be found. Sora, Riku, and Kairi had arrived at the beach at almost three on the dot, only to find it deserted. "I don't understand why we're even here. It's obvious it's going to rain," Riku was complaining, dragging his bare feet through the sand and shooting resentful looks at his red-headed best friend. It was still warm out, but with the sky so dank it really put a downer on the festive mood the three had worked up. "Really, the sky's probably going to open up any minute and punish us for still being outdoors." The eldest of the group continued. 

"No it's not," said Kairi hotly, sending a glare Riku's way. "I watched the weather this morning and they said there's only a fifty percent chance of rain."

"Doesn't that mean they just don't know?" Sora questioned, caught between wanting to stay with his friends or go home and watch TV. He quickly chose the first option when Kairi turned and glared at him.

Riku, apparently, was still undecided. "That's a good point, Sora." He said; chuckling lightly as he easily avoided the swipe Kairi took at him. "What if one of us gets struck by lightning? It'll be all your fault Kairi," He taunted, sticking his tongue out and again dodging her outstretched hand. The redhead continued batting at him until she finally hit him lightly and commenced yelling about how they all needed to spend more time together. Riku rubbed the back of his head gingerly as Kairi adjusted the beach towel around her chest and headed off towards the ocean, head held high. The two boys followed, Sora laughing quietly and Riku sending him death glares. Eventually Kairi reached the water, she stopped a few feet shy and whipped off her towel, letting it drop over the sand to create an efficient barrier on which she could lounge. The girl did just that, lumbering down until her practically bare body lay outstretched under the clouds.

Sora blushed; he quickly whipped around and closed his eyes. "What are you doing?" He asked, trying to resist the urge to turn and appreciate her build. Riku stood off to the side, grinning at his younger friends' modesty. Or, in Kairi's place, lack thereof. "Aren't you coming swimming with us?" Sora questioned, face still bright pink.

"No," Kairi muttered, eyes closed and a content smile in place, "I've got to get a tan."

At that, both the boys started laughing. Riku spoke first, "Y-You do realize it's **cloudy** out, right?" He doubled over and held his sides; Sora did the same.

"Yes," Kairi hissed indignantly. "You can still tan when it's cloudy. UV rays are what tan…" She explained in vain. The boys continued to laugh hysterically. "It's not **that** funny," The redhead yelled after a minute, finally opening her eyes and glaring at them.

"Whatever," Riku chuckled, wadding out into the water. He glanced over his shoulder, "Coming?" the older boy asked, glancing in Sora's direction.

Said brunette was still staring at Kairi. He bent down and set his towel in the sand, before glancing up. Sapphire and amethyst eyes clashed as Sora spoke softly, "I don't think you really need a tan. You already look good,"_really good_, he added mentally.

Kairi's cheeks brightened to match her hair; she gulped and tucked a strand of red behind her ear before reached over and poking Sora's cheek. "That's sweet, but I'll need to tan a lot more if I'm ever going to catch up to you…" She smiled and rolled onto her back, "Don't worry. You guys go have fun."

Sora stood and turned to the current. Waves crashed onto the beach, white water rushing up over his toes before surrendering itself back to the ocean. The boy shivered but traveled forward, walking cautiously towards his friend. The beach they were on was actually a tourist beach; therefore it was cleaned often and lacked the characteristic clumps of seaweed that usually littered residential beaches. Sora was glad they lived in the up-side of town as he stepped through smooth sand interrupted but only the occasional soft rock. By the time water reached his navel the younger boy was standing next to Riku. They eyed each other for a moment before the icy haired teen reached into his trunks and pulled out a small round object.

"Let's play catch," Riku said, unfolding his fist to reveal a petite foam ball. He was already moving backwards when Sora spoke up,

"Isn't that a little too kiddy for-" the brunette was cut off when Riku threw the ball at full force and hit him square in the face. The younger boy gawked as the ball fell into the tides, leaving behind a large red spot on his forehead. "You bastard!" Sora yelled, grabbing the ball after a moment of paralysis and throwing it as hard as possible. "I don't care how stupid or boring the game is! I'LL CRUSH YOU!" He continued, waving his arms around as Riku caught the ball and sent it flying back.

Five minutes later the two were gasping for breath as they continued to war with each other. Sora had to dive to catch the ball; his arms stretched as far as humanly possible as he crashed into the water sending up huge splashes. His hair had lost all defiance a while ago and now fell against his cheeks where it stayed under the weight of the saltwater. Kairi watched in amusement from the beach as Sora sprang out of the waves and sent the ball hurtling towards Riku, who had to dive backwards to catch it before he too dropped in the water. The two continued to play ferociously, slowly edging back each time Riku threw the ball too far or Sora's fell short.

Eventually they were near the shore again; having finally encountered the natural outward curve of the beach. The older boy threw another hardball, using his natural superior muscles to make catching it almost impossible. Sora took the ball to the chest and flew backwards, tumbling into the water and landing less then gracefully on his butt. The sphere fell prey to the waves and disappeared as the brunette sat there sputtering. "Jesus," he said, rubbing the newly formed lump over his sternum. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You lost the ball…" Riku mumbled disappointedly, gliding easily through the current and stopping just in front of Sora. The older boy looked out over the murky waves but couldn't catch sight of the dark blue object.

"You're concern is touching," Sora said sarcastically, pushing himself out of the water and glancing down the beach. "I didn't notice how far we moved," He muttered, squinting and just barely making out Kairi's figure. "Oh well, I was getting tired of owning you anyways," he laughed and headed back in his girlfriend's direction.

A hand on his shoulder stopped him.

"Isn't our secret cove somewhere around here?" Riku asked, gesturing towards the forestry that covered a small chunk of the beach that jutted out from the mainland.

Sora turned and examined the scene, "It's on the other side." He said, trying to remember the exact location of the tiny bay they had found many years ago while exploring the outskirts of the beach. A lot people from town knew about the inlet; it had often been used as a date or make out spot by the older kids. Still, the boys had deemed it their own 'secret spot' and promised never to mention it to anyone. They kept it almost as secret as the small cave they had found at the northern end of the island back when they were kids; the only difference was **no one** knew about that cavern.

"We should go check it out," Riku said, awkwardly dropping his palm from Sora's shoulder. "I haven't been there in forever. 'Wonder if it's changed."

The younger boy glanced back in Kairi's direction; he chewed his lip for a moment before nodding and following his friend back out into the open water. They swam around the delicate protrusion of beach while playfully splashing each other and making an overall ruckus. Eventually they managed to swim fully around and found themselves walking over sandy banks in search of the small opening that lead to their cove. "It's over here!" Sora called after a few minutes, motioning to Riku who had somehow managed to walk right by. Once the older boy joined his friend he realized why; tree branches had grown over the small opening and made it blend in with the surrounding vegetation. He pulled said branches back to allow the smaller boy entrance. After Sora shimmied inside he stood and looked around, mouth and eyes opening wide in awe. Once Riku was through the leaves he too stopped and stared in wonder.

The pond was small; hardly more than four or five meters wide and even smaller long. There was the slightest sound of rushing water made from the tide pushing in just enough of the substance to keep the pool from going stagnant. The current swirled through the cerulean water and washed up lazily onto muddy banks, here the sand only seemed to gather at the deepest parts of the pond. Overhead light filtered in, penetrating the canopy in small beams that filled the miniature clearing with an emerald haze which served to make the entire scene appear mystical; like an oasis hidden in the desert.

Sora stepped inside, feet splashing in the water and casting ripples outward from his body. At its deepest the pool only reached his inner thighs; it sloshed there and tickled him until he smiled and beckoned an astonished Riku over. They stood together in silence, examining the vegetation in interest before Sora finally turned to his friend and began to say, "It really is beau-"

He was cut off by a mud-ball to the face.

The boy flailed, arms waving around wildly as he slipped in the mud and crashed down onto his back. Sora groaned, wiping the earth from his eyes and glaring viciously in his friend's direction. Riku stood with his arms crossed over his bare chest, a sadistic grin spread over his features as he bent down slowly and scooped up another handful of dirt.

Sora scrambled to his feet, dragging a hand through the muck and hurling the sticky substance at the older boy. Riku easily side-stepped and threw his own mass at the brunette, who ducked under it and stuck his tongue out teasingly. "You can only hit me when I'm not expecting it!" Sora boasted, dragging up yet another ball of sludge and flinging it the taller boy's way.

Riku raised a brow and leaned to the right, the muck whizzing past him and splattering only a slight amount of residue onto his cheek. "You sure about that?" He questioned, immediately charging forward. The older teen dipped a hand into the pool and scraped it along the bottom, collecting grime in his palm before colliding with a shocked Sora. The two flew backwards, a mess of skin and limbs fell into the shallow water with a large splash. Riku easily pinned his smaller friend with one hand and proceeded to mash the mud onto Sora's face. He laughed as the younger boy wiggled beneath him in vain, sputtering and growling angrily. After a moment the older boy released Sora's hands and leaned back, dipping his own hands into the water and cleaning them. The brunette did the same; he wiggled uncomfortably under Riku's weight as he wiped his face with damp hands. Once Sora's face was sufficiently clean Riku bent over and planted his hands on either side of the boy's head, "See?"

"That's not fair. You cheated," Sora complained, wiggling his legs uncomfortably and trying to extricate them from the larger boy's.

Riku laughed and leaned his head down until their noses were almost touched, "I wasn't aware there were rules…" Sora pressed his palms against the other boy's shoulders and pushed, trying to dislodge him. After a moment he realized Riku had stopped laughing, azure eyes locked onto aquamarine and the two boys simply stared at each other. The brunette suddenly became aware of how fast his heart was beating; he felt his fingers and toes tingle as he unconsciously tightened his grip on Riku's shoulders. The older boy took notice, his eyes flashed to Sora's hands before returning back to the boy's face. And suddenly Riku was leaning closer; long strands of icy hair fell over his shoulders and subtly tickled the younger boy's face.

Sora wet his lips and let his eyes fall shut on instinct. He could just barely feel his friend's chest pushing into his, and out of impulse Sora pressed his entire body upwards into the warm skin. Just as he tilted his head to the side something cold dripped onto his forehead. It was lightly raining. There was hardly a hairs width was between their lips when Sora's eyes popped open; both the boys stared at each other for a moment before the knowledge of what they were about to do hit them with full force. They pulled away at the same time and splashed in opposite directions, Sora clawing his way to the left while Riku all but threw himself to the right.

Both boys sat there in similar states of shock. What felt like hours limped by before Sora finally managed to swallow the lump in his throat and turn around. He found himself staring at Riku's back for a moment before words finally worked their way through the fog that had engulfed his brain, "We should… get back to Kairi…" Riku stood without warning and nodded, he walked slowly out of the cove without meeting Sora's eyes. The brunette followed him, head hanging and a bright red blush staining his cheeks.

Probably permanently.

The two reached Kairi in the same quiet embarrassment. By the time the three were standing together the rain had already begun pouring over the beach in sheets. Kairi stood in the wet sand with their towels cradled under her arms protectively; Riku and Sora kept at least three feet between them at all times.

"I was wondering where you ran off to," the redhead said, finally breaking the uncomfortable silence. Sora winced and a blood rushed to Riku's face. The two boys took another step apart and whipped their heads in different directions. That spiked Kairi's interest, but she didn't say anything and instead motioned for the boys to follow her.

The three walked in the rain for a while before ending up at a small seaside café. A hostess sat them next to a window before taking drink orders and disappearing into the back of the restaurant. Riku took the window seat and commenced staring out of it blankly; he watched the tide roll in without any semblance of emotion on his face. Other than a pretty prominent blush, of course.

Sora had unwillingly sat next to Riku. Both boys moved their chairs apart as far as possible, but nothing less then a reinforced steel wall between them could have sated their frazzled nerves. The brunette had taken to resting his chin in his palm and looking out over the café. Apparently he found the two old men sitting at the bar incredibly interesting; he watched them for a long time and didn't even look up when his coke arrived. The men were obviously fishermen; they wore characteristic hats and life vests, along with big rubber boots and two fishing poles leaning against the bar. Every now and then one would laugh good-naturedly and the other would slap his friend on the back. Even buckets of rain didn't seem to affect their moods.

The brunette blanched and returned his attention to Kairi, who was talking rather animatedly about a new show she had started watching. The redhead appeared almost completely oblivious to the fact that she was talking to herself; but when Sora looked closer he noticed her eyes darting back and forth between him and his friend every now and then. Something about his girlfriend observing that something had gone on between him and his best friend didn't sit well with Sora. In fact, it made him feel rather sick.

After two orders of fries and several refills the rain finally stopped. The only one who had a wallet was Riku; he grudgingly paid even though he hadn't eaten anything. The three friends left the establishment in an awkward silence, Kairi stuck in the middle and receiving the full of her friends' moods. Finally she stomped forward and whirled around in front of them, fists balanced on her hips and a scowl twisting her features.

"Okay guys, I don't care about whatever is going on. Just **stop** with it, whatever **it** is. If we're going to spend the rest of the day together you both really need to just get over yourselves."

Both of the boys stared blankly at the redhead, wondering how she would react if she knew what they had been doing. Sora was the first to speak, "Actually, my stomach is hurting me. I was planning on going home anyways," he rubbed a small circle on his bare abdomen for emphasis. Before Kairi could complain, or really say anything at all, Sora had snatched his towel out from under her arm and was walking away hurriedly. He broke into a run once he was sure neither of his friends could see him, and he didn't stop until he practically collapsed into his house.

Chest heaving, the boy lumbered down a small hallway that led to his room. He pushed open the door and crumpled inside; barely making it to his bed before he fell into the mess of pillows and sheets tiredly. It felt like he'd been doing that a lot as of late.

Sora sighed and glanced at the clock hanging over his door; it was only four forty-three and he already felt like passing out and surrendering himself to whatever treacherous dreams his guilty mind could compose. Instead he ran his fingers through saline littered locks and decided it would be best if he stayed there for a while to catch his breath. Then maybe he would take a shower and try to wash away all the sin that had built up on his skin.

And hopefully some of the salt, too.

* * *

The phone rang three minutes after six. Sora had been dozing at his computer desk when he heard it, the loud ringing from his right sent him tumbling from his chair and rolling onto the floor. He groped his desk groggily until lightly tanned fingers found the receiver and brought it to his ear. 

"Hello?" He asked, trying to keep the sleep from his voice.

"Sora…?" A voice laden with static asked. The receiver buzzed for a minute and Sora could hear a distant, "Hey, is this thing working….?"

The phone took a moment to clear before Sora tried again, "Kairi?" The voice on the other line was definitely feminine.

"Hey Sora!" his girlfriend's voice was clear now. "I was calling to see if you were feeling better. You didn't look too good when we left that food-place, and I guess my yelling at you didn't help."

Sora missed the note of guilt in her voice and went for the ever elegant, "Huh?"

_Oh right, the restaurant… _the brunette remembered. _Yeah… the stomach ach, the rain, the 'almost-kissing-Riku' thing._ Sora's mind went blank for a moment before the full realization of what the 'almost-kissing-Riku thing' was. His eyes widened and his mouth formed a small 'o' before he dropped the phone in shock and simply stood there for a minute.

Kairi's voice through the receiver brought him back. He bent down and picked it up just as she was asking, "Hey, are you there?" He mumbled into the phone blandly making her laugh, "Goodness Sora, you sure sound tired. Well, you never answered me… are you feeling better?"

"I guess so."

"Good, because I was thinking that if you were up to it maybe we could go out on a date? We haven't been on an official one yet, even though we're an official couple." His girlfriend said in a singsong voice.

Sora contemplated for a minute, wondering if going out with Kairi would be a good idea after everything that had happened. At the same time, he really liked the idea of spending time with her; she always made him forget his troubles. "You know, that actually sounds really good. But your mom will have to take us… mine left town this morning." Kairi squealed on the other line happily,

"I already asked her! Do you think you can be ready by seven? She offered to drive us to a restaurant in town on her way to do some shopping. Do you want to catch a late movie after dinner? I saw a really cute commercial the other day that I've wanted to see since…"

The brunette blinked in surprise, it was amazing how fast she managed to say all that. "I… guess that sounds cool. Yeah, okay, a traditional 'dinner and a movie'. It'll be fun!"

Kairi laughed and said something about being glad he was excited before bidding him farewell because she had to go 'primp' herself. Sora was pretty much ready already; his hair was nice and unruly from the shower he had taken earlier, he had changed into a fresh outfit, and mentally he had banished any thoughts of silver-haired best friends that had a way of making everything uncomfortable. Yes, he was definitely ready.

A horn honked outside Sora's house five minutes before seven. He'd taken his time getting to the door, and after he had finally pulled it open the boy had walked to Kairi's car as slowly as possible; trying to look as cool. The effect was only **slightly** ruined when said girlfriend rolled her window down and yelled, "Hurry up!" at him. Sora glared but hurried to the car before cramming himself inside. Kairi's Mom's car was a small civic with nice upholstery, high gas efficiency, and little room from growing boys. As a result for the entire ride to town the two teens' knees bumped awkwardly, causing a light blush to stain Kairi's cheek and blood to rush to Sora's ears.

Once they arrived at the restaurant the two had taken their time getting out of the vehicle. Inside was nice; it was a seafood bistro decorated with reds and browns that had many paintings of crustaceans hanging from the walls along with a large lobster tank right next to the entrance. The moment they came through the door the lightly glowing tank caught Kairi's eye; she examined it excitedly while Sora spoke to a rather bored looking hostess. After a five minute wait they were led to the 'non-smoking' area and sat at a small booth for two. A small light was hanging their table; it warmed their skin and basked them in graceful golden light. "This is nice," Kairi observed; glancing around the establishment as a way to keep herself from staring at her boyfriend. Sora agreed, and he took advantage of her waning attention and simply stared at the redhead. Kairi really was beautiful.

A few minutes later a server took their drink orders. Sora got the ever-popular Coke while Kairi chose an exotically named Ice-Tea. After the waitress was gone the redhead excused herself, claiming that she needed to visit the 'little-girls-room'.

Again Sora found himself waiting, but this time no more than thirty seconds had gone by before his girlfriend was bouncing at his side with wide eyes and a large grin. "You have to come see this," She whispered, pulling at his arm excitedly until the brunette sighed and followed her.

The restaurant they were at was made of two sections: smoking and non smoking. Between the sections was a thin 'T' shaped screen. Kairi had pulled Sora around the divider and against the wall it protruded from; they were currently standing slyly across from the bar and trying to ignore the odd looks they were receiving. "Kairi, what are we doing?" the boy asked, annoyance slipping into his tone. The redhead shushed him before gesturing wildly towards the entrance to the smoking area.

Sora raised a questioning brow as he shuffled past his girlfriend and sneakily glanced around the wall. Many couples and families were eating their meals or talking to each other, and for a moment Sora wasn't sure what he was looking for. Then out of his peripheral vision he caught the slightest hint of platinum.

_Oh no_.

Riku was sitting in a corner booth, staring unenthusiastically at his mother and father as the two adults chattered away. His head was resting on his palm and he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that Sora was standing on a few meters away gawking as if someone had just murdered his puppy right in front of him. Just as a pair of aquamarine eyes were traveling his way the brunette felt and hand tug on his arm and pull him back around the wall. Kairi was standing there grinning almost manically, "Told ya you had to see that."

"What do we do?!" Sora asked, going into panic mode. "Are we supposed to go say 'hi'?"

"No way," the girl say, looking slightly offended. "He looks like he's about to rip his hair out, if we go say hi he'll probably use it as an excuse to tag along with us and get away from the 'rents."

"I thought you said earlier that we all needed to spend more time together…?" Sora asked mockingly, laughing when Kairi glared.

"Yeah," she said, "but not right now. This is our private time…" And suddenly she was moving closer. A hand reached out and gripped his arm lightly as their eyes locked; Kairi's half-lidded and Sora's widening in alarm. She wanted to kiss here? Now? With Riku less then fifteen feet away?! Before he could really react their lips were touching, the sensation of skin on skin flooded the boy's mind and made him panic. He wasn't ready yet! This didn't exactly follow Riku's instructions; wasn't Sora supposed to move in slowly and wow her? He closed his eyes, trying to remember Riku's words and actions. He could remember the feel of his best friend's fingers in his hair; he easily recalled the sensation of the older boy's appendages traveling over his lips and jaw, and could almost feel them now. Sora shivered, letting his hand travel up to the back of Kairi's neck and letting it rest there with his eyes still closed.

It was almost like he**was** kissing Riku.

The boy thought of each gesture that had been made that night; he reflected on the feel between their chests and the way their lips had touched. Sora found himself still locked in that position, kissing his best friend zealously without even meaning to. But… something was different this time. It occurred to Sora he wasn't kissing his best friend right now…

He was kissing his girlfriend.

When the thought made itself clear in his mind the boy pulled away on impulse, shocked to find that when their lips had touched he had been thinking of someone else entirely. Sora tried to keep from shaking as Kairi finally opened her eyes and looked around embarrassedly, "I guess we got a little carried away, huh?" She questioned, avoiding the eye of a rather inquisitive looking waiter. "We should probably get back to our table… huh?" the redhead asked. Sora only nodded dumbly and followed her to their seats. After a few moments of awkward silence Kairi looked up from her menu and whispered, "You're a really good kisser, Sora."

They finished the rest of their meal in silence.

To Kairi it was from embarrassment, but to Sora it was from mortification. He had been thinking about his **friend**, who was a **guy**, while he was **kissing** Kairi; who was not only a girl but also his **girlfriend**.

Really, right now seemed like a perfectly good time to prove someone could indeed die from humiliation.

When they finally got up to leave Sora was ready to run the door down and forcefully suppress the memory of what had happened here. Of course, fortune favoring him as always, he would have to walk past the smoking section to get to the exit. That realization finally occurred to him he was just walking past the archway. The boy froze in mid-step and didn't even bother trying to keep his head from turning back and looking in Riku's direction. Cobalt met emerald and for a moment the two just watched each other; finally the older boy's eyes slid back towards his parents.

Why was Sora suddenly finding it hard to breathe?

The couple hurried out the door, Sora literally dragging Kairi behind him all the way to the theatre. It was only a few blocks away, but by the time they got there Sora was panting something fierce. His girlfriend ended up dragging him to a movie, and even though it was a boring chick-flick it was the only thing giving him an excuse to not go to Riku's.

Therefore he relished every minute of it.

Once the movie was over Sora sighed. It had been a sappy and easily predictable 'true love conquers all' story, but it had still sent Kairi into a blubbering sob-fest that lasted long after her mom picked them up. "It's just so… beautiful." She paused to sniffle, "I'm such a hopeless romantic!" The redhead yelled just as the car was rolling up their street.

"We here," Kairi's mother called from the driver's seat, before parking the car at the curb in front of their house. Both of the teens lumbered out of the vehicle slowly and Sora soon found himself unwillingly walking Kairi to the door. They stood there awkwardly, Sora with his hands stuffed in his jean pockets and Kairi with hers entwined behind her back. The two both examined the ground for a minute before finally the redhead looked up shyly,

"I had a nice time tonight," She said, a smile gracing her features.

"Me too," Sora replied instantly. It occurred to him that now was the part of the date where they kissed goodnight, but he didn't want to have another incident like at the restaurant. Instead the boy took a slight step back and added, "Well… I should probably get going. It's late and I'm supposed to stay at Riku's while my mom is away."

Kairi looked slightly surprised, "Really? I hope he didn't see us at the restaurant…" She laughed, "You'd probably be in trouble, then."

"Yeah – I hope not." Sora replied sourly before turning away abruptly and leaving Kairi alone under porch light. She shrugged and disappeared into her house while Sora stalked across the street to pick up supplies from his house.

It was going to be a long night.

* * *

The clock atop Riku's armoire read ten twenty-three. Sora had been standing in his friend's doorway since ten eighteen; he'd been waiting for the older boy to make some kind of recognition that he indeed had company. 

All Riku did was lounge in front of his TV and continue to play a shooter game.

After another two minutes Sora cleared his throat. His friend still didn't look or nod or give any real indication that he was alive besides the constant flick of his thumb over his controller. The younger boy grew tired of waiting; he eventually stepped through the threshold and threw the small black bag that had been previously resting on his shoulder onto the ground. It tumbled over the floor and came to an abrupt halt when it bumped into Riku's back. Silence ensued. Only the sound of bullets flying filled the room; it made for comfortable background noise as Sora took to staring at the back of his friend's head. Ultimately the electronic soldier died, and the two boys stayed quiet in the wake of his passing.

Finally the stillness became too much for Sora, "Are you mad… about the restaurant…?" he asked, dropping down onto the edge of Riku's bed.

If the older boy had any lingering resentment at being left alone with his exasperating parents he certainly didn't show it. He just walked over to his dresser and pulled open the bottom drawer; inside were several tightly packed blankets that he removed one by one. The older teen laid each cover over the other until he had made a make-shift bed; after he finished he lumbered over to his bed and removed one of the extra pillows. Just when Sora thought he would receive no answer Riku finally dropped the pillow onto the bed and said, "The restaurant? I don't know what you mean."

_So he's just going to pretend Kairi and I didn't flat out ignore him…_ the brunette observed. "You know," Sora began, "Kairi and I went on a date tonight. We were at the same restaurant. I'm sorry for not coming and saying hi to you… I feel weirdly guilty about it."

Riku raised one snow-white eyebrow, "Really? I didn't see you there." The boy was scrunched over straightening up the bed. "How was your date?"

"Definitely not what I expected…" Sora said softly, watching as his friend finally stood from making an even bigger mess of the sheets. "I take it I'm sleeping down there…?" Riku nodded at Sora's question. The younger boy found that to be a relief; he didn't want to be sharing a bed with someone he was apparently fantasizing about. Especially since that someone was Riku.

The two didn't talk much after. An hour had snuck by before they decided to finally snuff out the awkward atmosphere with sleep. Sora found himself sprawled over the floor; the sheets provided him little cushioning but were better than nothing. Riku had already surrendered his mind to rest; his soft breathing created a sweet lullaby that seemingly wrapped Sora up in a silken blanket of protection and lead him off to his dream world.

Though, honestly, he didn't like that place too much.

_Sora found himself on the beach again. It was just as dark as the last time; the moon shone in the sky but made no light. Again Sora was drawn towards the sound of crashing waves. He ran forward, concluding that if he ignored all the voices around him calling out his name and somehow managed to make it to the water as quickly as possible every thing would be okay. Someone grabbed his hand, and he knew it was Kairi without turning or looking. Up ahead he saw Riku; the boy was bathed in emerald light and reaching towards Sora. _

_He tried to change his direction; tried to run around his friend and somehow avoid being pulled towards the magnetic presence. His feet wouldn't stop moving though, and no matter how much he pulled away Sora eventually found himself stepping into the light. Once the haze touched his skin the sand erupted around him and everything twisted until Sora found he was lying on his back with Kairi crouching over him. She kissed him lightly, and almost immediately her lips went from soft and delicate to rougher and more demanding. _

_Riku. _

_His eyes were wide open. He watched as red hair bleed white, as smooth skin became roughed, and as her fragile arms became well sculpted. _

_Sora found his voice, "STOP!" echoed into the night. _

_Immediately he was kissing air. The scene around him dissipated; the night sky becoming a light colored ceiling as Sora tumbled into his bedroom. He landed upright, his back pressed into his wall as chains wrapped around his legs and held his arms above his head securely. His shirt disappeared while invisible hands roamed up the leg of his pants and played around on his inner thigh. _

_Then Riku was there again, and for the first time in the dream he could feel. _

_Riku's chest, Riku's hands, the boy's lips and eyes and hair and every single part of him suddenly linked itself to Sora. They didn't touch; the two just stood across from each other with their eyes locked as an indescribable thread wove itself between them and pulled them closer. Without a single movement they were kissing, both of their eyes still locked as lips pressed almost violently into each other. The chains disappeared, and for once Sora didn't want to pull away. He let his arms fall over the other boy's shoulders and grope there; one limb weaving into long icy locks while the other attempted to pull him closer, if possible. Riku's own hands were tracing slow, tantalizing lines over Sora's chest. They dipped down to his belly button and ran up to his clavicle. _

_In time Riku was gripping Sora's thighs, using the wall as leverage to pick the boy up. Sora wrapped his legs around his friend's middle; he proceeded to grind into the taller boy and shower his face with open mouthed kisses. The two shuddered, Riku pressing Sora into the wall almost painfully. _

_And then the door swung open and Kairi walked in. _

Sora awoke to the feeling of hands shaking his shoulder. He was breathing harshly, chest rising and falling as he looked around blindly. After a moment his eyes adjusted to the dark, and kneeling in front of him he found Riku. The older boy was merely a silhouette; moonlight from his window cast itself around him and swallowed him in night. Sora tried to control his breathing as his friend moved forward, the older boy's face finally becoming visible. He wore an unrecognizable expression.

An uncomfortable moment passed between the two before Sora shrugged his friend's hands off and sat up, rubbing his temples slowly and finally catching his breath. "Having a bad dream..?" Riku asked, "Or was it a good one?" At Sora's questioning glance he added with a slight chuckle, "You were moaning pretty loudly. I actually felt bad about waking you up, but if I hadn't you might've woken up my parents."

The brunette blushed and whipped his head in the opposite direction. "For you're information… it wasn't anything like that." He lied deliberately. When Riku hmphed sarcastically Sora continued, "It was actually pretty scary. I mean… some parts were… good." His blush intensified, "But in general it was… I don't know, weird."

"Weird how?" Riku asked, finally sitting down across from his friend and locking eyes with the younger boy.

Sora shuddered, remembering the way Riku had looked at him in the dream. The way Kairi had looked. How insanely guilty he had felt the moment she had come swinging through the door. Abruptly the dam he had built around himself the night of their first kiss broke; he dropped backwards into the sheets and finally muttered, "I've just been feeling really guilty lately. Ever since **then**."

"Guilty…" Riku echoed, "Why? You mean from back in the cove? It was an accident… we should really just forget about it."

"No. Before that. The first night… when you… when we… you know. The thing is… I really enjoyed it. **Really** enjoyed it. When we were in the cove too; I wanted to kiss you so much. And if that's not bad enough, Kairi and I had our first kiss at that damn restaurant. Guess what?" The older boy cocked his head; not exactly sure he wanted to know. "I saw you. I fucking saw **you** while having my first kiss with Kairi. I don't understand any of this and it's driving me insane, Riku." Sora pressed his palms into his eyes and sighed.

"I feel like I'm betraying her… like every single thought I have these days is some kind of insult to the relationship I've wanted for so long."

Riku listened in a sort of stunned silence; every word his best friend said muddled his mind more. "I… don't know what to say. I guess everything we've done has been one big bad idea, huh? I think you should just go to sleep Sora; it might be best to wake up in the morning and try to forget anything ever happened."

Sora nodded, not sure if he wanted to forget at all; but he found the idea of sleep too tempting to pass up. Letting loose bottled up confessions was very taxing, and he easily slipped into a lucid state of half-consciousness. Just as he tittered on the edge of slumber he thought he heard Riku speak,

"Have sweet dreams."

And along with the words he felt the slightest, softest pressure on his forehead.

* * *

**Post A/N:**

_My tears don't let my flowers fade  
My song fell silent in the shade  
I'm numbed I'm standing still in fear  
All that I lived for, disappears  
The air, I breathe, is getting close  
I'm choking feeling so exposed  
I've come to kneel here in the dirt  
To everyone I've ever hurt_

_Black would be white  
If you would only hold my hand  
Black would be white  
I'd be yours  
Wrong would be right  
If you would only touch my hand  
Night would be light  
I'd be yours_

_I tried so hard to keep the flame  
From being put out by the rain  
That was my poor and last attempt  
The darkest dream I ever dreamt  
My sun is black, my rain is blood  
Mixed in the mourning coloured flood  
It's true, you won't know heaven well  
If you have never been in hell_

**Black Would be White – Plazma:** God, this song is so beautiful! I must've played it a million times through this chapter… again my sister hates me for it! You can find a cool 'Petshop of Horrors' video on YouTube with it. I've never actually seen the show, but it looks pretty cool. Maybe I'll have to watch it some day!

(The real A/N):

Wow. It's really hard to write Sora and Riku being all friendly. Every second I'm like, "GAH! JUST JUMP ON EACH OTHER ALREADY!!!!" I'm trying to get past the awkwardness, but really… ATM I think they'll be ill at ease with each other for a while. Maybe they'll get better after some sweet sweet lovin'. Anyways, I was playing around with my account and found out I could make polls! I made one, and I now command you all to go to my page and take it. And while you're there, I figure I should mention that you can always check my homepage for updates on how far I am with each chapter. If you're ever wondering I thought I'd let you know. Yeah, so of course I want to thank every single reviewer (and reader) that I have. You're all so amazing!!! I especially want to mention NaroRau… She's lovely and supportive and she reviews ever chapter with these awesome comments that just make me grin like the big idiot I am. :love:

Lastly, I want to thank Sarah (my sister), Joy (my BETA), and S'morgie (me best friend) for all making the entire writing process so fun! I have to say, my sister makes me laugh like crazy. We opened out doors (our rooms are adjoined) and talked all day long, throwing stupid jokes back and forth. Some were kind of gross though… at one point she said…. Good god I don't even have the heart to repeat it. And Joy! Good gosh, Joy is just... Joy. We live in different states but every time I talk to her I feel like I'm sitting next to her and about to fall out of my chair laughing. Plus, she drew Fan art :gasps: Her humping stick figures OWN! Of course, for the last of this chapter (which was the hardest) I owe everything to my best bud S'morgie. She bugged me non stop to finish like a little bitch. But, a very loveable little bitch. :D

By the way, I'm posting this without any real editing... So I may end up reposting it once I get the complete finished copy, depending on how much is changed. I don't know why but I'm unable to contact my BETA, and really I can't keep a chapter for more than four days without going insane. I like posting as soon as possible... If you get my drift. (teheh - my stupid way of saying "hi" to a certain reviewer - - hello!)

'Till next time,

DCR


	5. Chapter 5

**Pre A/N:** Oh, I'm really scared about the formatting in this chapter. My parents are divorced so I'm a "broken home" kid or whatever (don't really care) and this is the first time I'm writing something on the computer at my mom's. It's Microsoft Works, and it's formatting is really weird. Oh well… I'm taking a lot of liberties on everyone's family in this story. I don't really know if they cover it in the game, but I never really saw anything on home-life… Anyways, the story is at a sort of crossroad… it could go many ways from now, and honestly I've thought up many different plots from this point. So I figured, why not have some fun with it? I put up a new poll on my profile; it asks what you want to happen. Make sure to go take a look at it and put in your opinion… I really need your help!

Well… Let's get on with it then:

* * *

**Winning in Third Place**  
Chapter Five.

* * *

Morning brought new calm to Sora.

He woke rapidly; one moment peacefully asleep and the next fiercely awake. The brunet sat from a mess of sheets on the floor, hair clumpy and sticking out at right angles.

Sunlight warmed his skin. The window across Riku's room had its curtains swept aside and was permeated by soft golden rays that fell around Sora and swept him up in sweet honey hues. A moment passed as the boy yawned tiredly, limbs stretching out from his body and attempting to revitalize deadened muscles. His arms dropped to his sides as Sora looked around his friend's room and dumbly searched for a clock. A glance to the right told him it was nine fifteen and too early for young boys to be awake.

He did seem to be waking up early as of late…

Sora finally took a moment to observe his surroundings. Riku's bed was empty; sheets poured over its sides and laid in helpless clumps on the floor. The teen in question was currently curling into his carpet, lankly body not two feet from his younger friend. Sora was surprised to see the older boy had never gone back to his own bed. He examined his friend's sleeping face for a moment before shrugging and numbly squashing the unexplainable hope that Riku had stayed up all night watching him.

Really, Sora wasn't going to think things like that anymore.

He quietly shuffled out of his makeshift bed, forcibly training his eyes on the door as he hobbled over his best friend to the said exit. Sora opened it slowly, wincing as rusty hinges creaked in a cliché horror-movie fashion. He slipped out into a small hallway and pulled the door closed behind him.

The soft sounds of dishes clinking in the kitchen ahead caught Sora's attention. As if on cue his stomach rumbled. He rubbed his stomach and ambled up the hall, bare feet sliding through plush carpets before finally erupting onto beige stone.

Riku's mother was in the kitchen. She worked diligently, not noticing she had company until after cracking two eggs into a pan and turning to grab salt from the opposite counter. The woman gasped when she saw Sora; she gripped her chest and stared wide-eyed at him for a moment before sighing and saying, "Jesus, you scared me Sora. I forgot you were staying with us." She paused and glanced at her eggs before adding, "Want some?"

He nodded quietly; a grin spread over the boy's features as he slid past the rather frazzled looking woman and over to the table. He pulled out a chair and angled it towards Riku's mother, watching her from behind cerulean eyes. Riku's mom was middle-aged and tall. She had mousy brown hair pulled back into curlers and a soft pink robe wrapped around her body.

Obviously she was where Riku got his eyes. The woman had soft chartreuse hues; they focused diligently on the pan before her and held the same glint Riku's usually sported. She shuffled around in pink bunny slippers, and the soft scuffing sound brought Sora's attention to her legs. Nice legs; toned and well-shaped.

Definitely like mother like son.

Sora blinked the second that thought entered his mind. He shook his head lightly, not too worried about thinking it but still having no intention of pursuing that direction any further. The boy took a moment to glance around him. Riku's house was nice, with black granite counters and steel kitchen appliances. A plate being shoved in front of him grabbed Sora's attention. Riku's mother was currently setting her own plate down across from him; both were decorated with two sunny-side-up eggs and a slightly burnt piece of buttered toast. Yum.

Once she was situated the woman looked up and offered him a knife and fork while asking, "So where's Riku?"

Sora understood the name and the question, but wasn't sure how to answer. _I left him asleep half because I thought he looked cute, and half because things have been a little weird since we kissed. _Somehow, that didn't seem like an appropriate explanation. Instead he gratefully took the eating utensils and set the silver objects next to his plate. He cleared his throat and softly muttered, "I just thought he would like to sleep in..." Riku's mom nodded and continued to eat her breakfast, seemingly ignoring the brunet as her knife and fork clinked on her plate. Sora joined her, cutting his eggs into a mess of yellow and white that bled over to his toast.

Finally the silence grew too thick.

"So… how have you been, Mrs.-" Sora fumbled with her name, never having liked to address parents directly.

"You can call me Beth. We've only known each other for ten years." _Beth_chastised him playfully before slipping a forkful of eggs into her mouth.

Sora nodded as a light blush spread over his cheeks. He rubbed the back of his head and mumbled, "Beth."

"Well, how have I been? That's a formal question…" She stuck the end of her fork between her lips and chewed on it lightly. "I guess I've been good. I haven't seen too much of you or Kairi though. Not since you decided to drop by at midnight… when was it? Not too long ago. Well, either way. Kairi's birthday wasn't too long ago, right? I do hope that was fun; at your age things can get so complicated."

_You have no idea_, Sora thought sourly. "They sure can," he agreed, the cynical note in his voice not wasted on his dining partner.

"Oh? Don't tell me something 'complicated' has happened to you…?" She asked, woman's intuition kicking in. Sora fumbled with his fork, another fierce blush working up his neck and over his ears. "So I was right," she continued, a childish grin lighting her features. "Well don't be shy. We're practically family, so you can tell me anything. Plus," She added, "I've got forty years of advice worked up for you."

As odd as talking about his problems with his best friend's mother was, Sora perked up. He played with his fork for a moment, twirling it around the yellow mess of egg while considering letting someone else work through his problems for him.

Eventually he dropped the fork onto the plate with a clink and looked up desperately, that calm feeling from earlier all but disappearing. "The thing is… I… well. Kairi and I… we started going out not too long ago." He began, gluing his eyes to the mess in front of him.

"How is that a problem?" the woman inquired, raising a brow. "I was under the impression from Riku that you've liked Kairi for a long time…?"

"I have!" Sora almost yelled, eyes shooting up and clashing against soft emeralds.

"But…?"

The brunet let his gaze fall back to the plate. He dropped his hands into his lap and fiddled with them for a moment. "I…" He wet his lips and thought carefully, "I really do like her. It's just… There's just…" The boy sucked his lip into his mouth, worried. "There's this… other girl."

Beth perked up, gaze falling over her guest patronizingly. "Sora… don't tell me you've cheated on sweet Kairi?"

"No!" he replied instantly, not sure if that was the truth or not. "I just… I've just been noticing this other… girl… a lot more than I used to. It's got me really confused."

Riku's mother leaned back, somewhat relieved. "So you're telling me you've finally gotten the girl you wanted, and now there's another girl who's caught your interest right when it's least convenient?"

Sora winced at the idea of being 'interested' in another 'girl', but nodded anyways.

"Well this hardly seems fair to poor Kairi…" Beth muttered; she glanced up, "How do feel about her, anyways…?"

"Of course I still…." Sora cut himself off. He bit his lip again and furrowed his brow, trying to recall how he'd felt all the times they'd been together recently. "I… don't really know." He finally answered, a note of shocked realization weaving itself together with his words.

The woman leaned forward, resting her chin in her palm. "If you don't know how you feel about your own girlfriend, but you know how you're feeling about someone else… then maybe you should break it off with Kairi before she gets hurt."

Sora shot up from the table, his chair scooting over the floor with a loud screech. "I don't have any idea how I feel about him!" the boy yelled hotly. A second went by before his brain caught up with his words and Sora slapped an appalled hand over his mouth. "I…" He mumbled from behind the appendage.

Beth shrugged, "Freudian Slip." Her eyes stayed suspiciously glued to the beet red blush spreading over his cheeks.

"Right…" Sora breathed, sitting quickly back down and ignoring the sudden jump in his heart rate. His arms and legs were inexplicably shaking; he balled his hands into fists and sat on them, trying to control the heat in his cheeks. Beth remained leaning on her palm, a catlike smile spread over her features as she nonchalantly said,

"Young love is so turbulent."

"S'not love." Sora slurred, glaring at his plate.

A few awkward minutes passed as the two ate silently, Riku's mother chewing crunchy toast as quietly as possible while Sora found his appetite quickly diminishing. Finally the older of the two cleared her throat and set the slightly blackened bread onto the side of her plate. "Well… this silence is just a little too thick for me. So tell me, Sora, about the rest of your summer. Besides your girl problems, how're you enjoying the last of your freedom?"

"The last of it?" Sora repeated questioningly.

Riku's mother looked at him oddly, brows furrowing. "Last time I checked the calendar your summer vacation was quickly disappearing. You can't have more than two weeks left."

Sora's stomach dropped. _That's right… summer really is almost over._ It hadn't felt like long at all since he, Riku, and Kairi had all been hightailing it out from their prison of a school and into the endless promise of adventure summer always offered. Of course, looking back at it now, Sora really would have preferred a nice boring summer with nothing happening at all. No best friends, no girlfriends, and no kissing.

Definitely no kissing.

Realizing that he had wandered off into his own little world, Sora glanced up at his friend's mother and smiled sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, sure is ending fast. I must have forgotten all about it because I've just been having so much fun." He snuffed out the bitterness in his voice. "I haven't really done much this summer at all. Just hung out with Riku and Kairi and, you know, a few other friends. Not much at all…" _Besides getting a girlfriend, and making out with her best friend- who's also my best friend and a guy. Oh, and let's not forget he's your son. But besides that, nothing at all._

He left the last part out for both their sakes.

Sora made a mental note to check his calendar soon. He didn't even know what day it was; he'd been so caught up in the recent… happenings of his daily life. The two finished their breakfasts in silence. The only sounds were those of clinking knives and forks on white plates of china. Riku's mother was the first to stand, as she motioned to Sora's plate and he handed it over to her. The woman moseyed over to the sink and dropped the plates in with a loud crash. The rush of water from a faucet filled Sora's ears as she began to wash off caked yolk and burnt breadcrumbs. The brunet watched as skillful, long fingers worked over glassy surfaces to clean away grit and grime. He was so mesmerized by the repetitive motion that he almost missed the soft voice reverberating around the kitchen, "You should really go wake Riku up. He'll be mad that we ate without him…" A moment passed before Sora nodded and scooted his chair back out. It screeched over the stone flooring again, but he ignored it and stood dutifully. Just as the boy was crossing through the arched door that led to the hall, the same feminine voice stopped him.

"Sora…"

A swift turn of the head and sapphire orbs clashed against sweet emeralds. Beth's eyes softened; she let her gaze fall to the floor as she uttered, "You should really tell him… if you haven't already."

Sora turned his head, glancing down the hall towards Riku's door. For once his pulse didn't go into overdrive as he replied softly, "Don't you mean her?" They locked eyes again.

Everything about her face said 'no', but a fake smile that didn't quite reach the woman's eyes split her cheeks anyways. "Ah… another Freudian Slip. Forgive me." She went back to scrubbing dishes as Sora stepped through the threshold and into the hall. He walked slowly to Riku's door, opening it lightly and wincing when it creaked even though he planned to wake his friend once inside anyway.

Riku was still sprawled on the floor. He was curled on his side and resting his head on top of his arm, the muscles there making stiff pillows. The teen grumbled as cold air from the hall washed over his uncovered body. He nuzzled his arm softly and rubbed his cheek against the soft skin before sniffing and falling still again. Sora watched from the door, an amused smile spreading over his features as he agilely weaved around the mess of sheets on the floor and crouched next to his friend. The boy balanced on his heels, carefully examining the face he had known for so long.

Sleeping so peacefully like that, Riku almost seemed like a stranger. Sora leaned forward, dropping to his knees and bending so that he could better see the older boy's expression. Long lashes cast shadows over milky-white cheeks. Pale lips were slightly parted to reveal a soft pink mouth inside which several strands of platinum hair had caught themselves. Sora bit his lip, resisting the urge to brush those hairs aside and tuck them safely behind his friend's ear.

Sora's finger twitched.

The boy sighed and allowed himself a moment of indulgence. A shaky hand traveled forward and hooked itself between the offensive strands and Riku's porcelain skin. Sora shook his head at such a stupid analogy, but still found it very fitting. The teen below him looked frail, like he would crack under even the slightest pressure. Sora didn't want to break him.

He finally got the hair to stay behind Riku's ear. The boy let his hand slide smoothly down the long delicate strands before returning the appendage to his lap and biting his lip.

_Riku looks so cute when he's sleeping,_ Sora found his mind traveling a path he really didn't want to walk. He shook his head again, letting the words scatter into a bunch of meaningless letters in his head before leaning forward determinedly. The brunet reached out; hesitant fingers aimed for his best friend's finely toned very bare shoulder.

Sora wondered why he hadn't noticed his friend wasn't wearing a shirt until now.

Eyes bulged, mouth gaped, and an already shaking hand flew back as if it had been burnt. Sora pulled the appendage to his chest, one hand grasping the other as he rocked back and forth and bit his lip so hard it was a miracle it didn't split. He couldn't stop his eyes from traveling hungrily over the bare skin, dipping down to the elastic waistline of Riku's boxers and up to the delicious curve of his shoulder blade. Sora's lips felt dry. He wet them unconsciously, gulping as he set out to nudge his friend into the waking world. A sleep laden voice stopped him.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer."

Aquamarine eyes were trained up at Sora's head. They watched in interest as all the blood in Sora's face drained from his cheeks, leaving him pale and probably on the verge of a major heart attack. Riku used his arms as leverage to push himself off the floor. He yawned absently and stretched his arm out behind his head, keeping one eye smugly open as his back arched forward directly in front of Sora's face, which was a completely white picture of true and utter shock.

Riku laughed.

_You should really tell him… _Beth's words ricocheted throughout Sora's skull. He dropped his face into his hands helplessly as the previously absent blood rushed back to his neck and ears. This was bad. This was very, very, very bad. Riku continued to laugh, and Sora continued to blush.

The younger boy went home not long after.

* * *

The calendar clipped to Sora's refrigerator read August the fifth.

Tuesday.

The Fifth.

School started in six days, on the eleventh.

Six. Days.

Sora slumped onto his counter, arms splayed out around his head and making him appear dejected and alone. Which he was.

Life sucks, he thought, wishing he had a time-machine at his disposal. Having a nice do-over of the last five days seemed like a grand idea. He let his mind wander over all the things he'd change as the boy tucked his face into the crook of his arm. He nuzzled the warm skin there absently as a short and sweet checklist of all the screw-ups he'd induced recently formed behind tightly clamped eyes.

1.) Those stupid dreams.  
2.) Trying to think up instructions in the middle of a kiss. How idiotic could he get?  
3.) That whole, 'Hey you can't hit me with a mud ball!' thing. Really, it's like he was asking for it.  
4.) Let's not forget asking Riku to teach him to kiss. God, it's amazing he could tie his own shoes with the kind of judgment he'd had as of late.  
5.) Kairi…

Sora's head shot up from the warmth of his arms. "Kairi?" He repeated to himself. "Wait - Kairi's not a problem here. She's a victim of my idiocy." He defended her out loud, as if his kitchen appliances were in some kind of debate with him. Sora sighed; arguing with himself would really get him nowhere. What he really needed to do was go and figure out how to fix this whole mess.

And add 'checking out unconscious best friends' to his "stupid moments" list.

The boy dropped his head back to the counter, cringing as skin met hard granite with a loud crack. Once the pain subsided he let his eyes fall shut, efficiently blocking out the world and all its happenings. What felt like two seconds later the phone rang; Sora jerked from the comfort of his arms and looked around wildly, body wavering on the side of his chair until he finally lost his balance and fell square on his butt. The brunet blinked in a daze, rubbing his backside tenderly as he hauled himself up off the floor and grabbed the cordless phone that lived in his kitchen. He answered with a groggy, "Hello?"

Static hissed on the other line before an obnoxious voice penetrated his eardrums. "Sora? Sora! Hey man! I'm so glad I got a hold of you; I was really startin' to worry. Listen, is Riku home? I tried to call him and he never…." Sora pulled the receiver away from his ear and stared at it blankly. The voice currently chiming through his kitchen sounded familiar, but he couldn't place it. Male, teenaged, and very, very loud.

Oh, right, he chided himself. He knew exactly who it was.

Axel.

But why would that guy be calling? They weren't exactly friends. Sure, they knew each other, but the only real interaction they had always involved a very important median. Riku. The two only really knew and put up with each other because they happened to share a certain platinum haired friend. Sora heard his name reverberating from the phone. He gasped and returned it to his ear quickly, "Sorry, sorry… I'm here. What were you saying?"

"Geez, I thought you hung up on me or something. Anyways, as I was saying… I keep trying to call Riku but the bastard's ignoring me. D'ya know if he's home? I was planning on asking him a big favor." Axel sounded desperate.

What, was Sora supposed to know every little thing his friend did? He wasn't a stalker or anything; why did people always assume he knew these things? "Sorry, Axel. I've got no idea what Riku's up to." He bit his lip and decided to let his curiosity get the better of him, "What… What favor were you going to ask him? I might be able to help."

The other line was silent for a moment before Axel laughed. "Actually," Sora could still hear him chuckling, "I don't know how much help you would be. See, my friend and I sort of made this…this bet." Oh god. "Nothing bad!" the older boy assured, as if he could read Sora's mind. "I just... Well I mean we…" He paused, trying to figure out how to word it right. "My friend and I spent a lot of our summer vacation wasting away in the arcade, right? So basically right after school ended he bet me that by the end of the summer he'd have more tickets than me. Well, summer is almost up and I need to work now more than ever if I'm gonna win his CD collection. So… I was going to ask Riku to come and help me out. The arcade is almost empty on Tuesdays so I figured it'd be a good time. Of course, I did ask him yesterday, since no one goes at all on Mondays… but he had to go to the beach with you." Sora reddened slightly as memories of what exactly happened at the beach sprang into mind.

"Wait…" Sora went over everything Axel had said in his mind, "What do you mean you don't know how much help I would be?" He glared at his phone as if that would somehow hurt the person on the other line.

Axel laughed again, "We all know you aren't exactly good at video games, Sora." Blunt, but true. "I guess you'd be better than no help at all though…" the voice sounded thoughtful, "What'd'ya say, want to join me for a night out filled with oodles of brain-cell-burning arcade games with cheap pizza and even cheaper prizes? I've left a message for Riku so maybe he'll join us later on."

"Well I might just be busy…" Sora said indignantly, not at all liking the idea of being Axel's last choice. Granted, he didn't really like the guy that much, but still…

Much to his dissatisfaction, Axel's voce took on a sarcastic tone. "What, have to go to the beach with Riku again or something?"

"No!" Sora said all too fast. He could almost hear the wheels turning over in the older boy's head, or maybe he was being paranoid. Either way the brunet continued quickly, "I'd love to come, even if you're rude and don't appreciate my mad gaming skills." Axel scoffed on the other line, but Sora cut him off before he could say anything. "My mom's out of town, so you'll have to pick me up… um, when did you want to go?" He glanced towards the wall clock; it was four.

"I could… pick you up at seven-thirty?" Axel offered, slightly dazed by how fast Sora had managed to blurt his last sentence out.

"Right, cool, good." The younger boy nodded at his phone enthusiastically as if he were having an actual face-to-face conversation. The two bid each other goodbye and Sora sat back down at the counter; each second that dripped by made his excitement grow. He really was looking forward to it; the idea of a chance to just hang out with someone whom he hadn't kissed (and didn't even really like) appealed more and more to him. He hadn't had real 'guy-time' in a while.

And the seconds continued to limp by until it felt like at least an hour had passed. Sora glanced at the clock.

4:13 P.M.

He went back to dozing on the counter.

* * *

A car horn honked outside at seven forty-two; fashionably late.

Sora rushed out the front door, hair a spiky mess and clothes relatively disheveled from having been hastily changed. The boy went tumbling into the passenger's side of a wood-paneled station wagon, hardly giving the car a glance besides noticing the timber was painted black with orange flames burning up the sides. It was a very 'Axel-like' paintjob.

The car was already running. Axel revved the engine twice before quickly backing out of Sora's driveway, red spikes swaying in the breeze from an open window. He didn't waste time with greetings or such, simply cranked up the radio and hit the gas, sending the station wagon hurtling down Sora's suburban street at a breakneck speed. The younger boy took to staring out his open window, ignoring how his hair tickled his eyes and cheeks as it blew back and forth. It was another cloudy day, making the world outside the car gray partly from a soon-to-come storm and partly because day was verging on night. Sora leant his chin on his palm, watching as a million similar lawns bled by in a sea of green until finally they burst onto the highway and sailed past local fast-food joints and strip malls.

A ride from Sora's house to the arcade took about ten minutes, but it felt much shorter than that as the boys pulled into an almost completely empty parking lot and backed into a vacant space. Once outside the car Sora laughed; Axel's parking job left the car almost completely sideways. The older boy scoffed and muttered something about being better than nothing as he lumbered out from the driver's seat and hurried into the building.

Inside smelt like burnt pizza. Sora coughed lightly, catching a definite underlining of smoke and funk in the air. He shook his head, taking a few deep breaths to familiarize his lungs with the air before pulling a brand-new quarter from his pants pocket and asking loudly, "So what first…? Shooter or racing games?"

Axel stared blankly at him; the older boy laughed obnoxiously for a moment before grabbing Sora by the collar of his shirt and dragging him across the room, saying, "I hope you're joking, kid. I told you I needed help to get tickets, not help to waste money. Here," He let the younger boy go in front of a kiddy-game, "You just play this for a while and get me a nice little stack of tickets, okay?" The redhead smiled crookedly at the boy in front of him. Sora scoffed, glaring back and forth between the machine and Axel. Before he could complain the older boy spoke again, "Please?" he drawled, "You said you'd help… And this is the fastest way…." Axel did his best imitation of a pout.

Much to Sora's disgust, it was working.

The boy sighed, turning to the machine and asking, "Well, fine, whatever. How do I work it?"

Axel grinned, taking out a quarter of his own and bumping Sora aside. "Like this," He said, slipping the circular currency into the machine and watching as lights blinked on and corny carnival music started playing. "You see this traveling light?" He asked, motioning to the circle of unlit bulbs in the contraption and gesturing at the path a single light took around them. Sora nodded hesitantly. "All you gotta do is hit the button when the light lights up in the red bulb." Axel glared at the machine until the light in front of him turned red. His fist pounced forward, banging onto a button in front of him and sending the machine into a frenzy of flashing lights and fast-paced music. 'You won, you won' it sang.

The redhead nodded approvingly, grabbing the strip of tickets the game spit out and saying; "Now you try."

"Right…" Sora lumbered in front of the machine, dropping a quarter inside and wincing as the lights and music began playing. Cerulean orbs reflected a sweet golden haze and widened at a flash of red; he lashed out as quickly as possible and tapped the button. In front of him, Sora saw he had been a second too slow and the light had skipped on to another golden bulb. "Oops…" He muttered, receiving only two tickets.

Behind him Axel laughed, "God, you really do suck at games."

"I just don't have the best hand-eye coordination, okay?!" Sora kicked the machine and shoved another quarter in, determined to win this time. The light turned red, he lashed forward, and only received two tickets. "Damn."

Sora spent the next half-hour feeding the machine currency, cursing loudly each time he fumbled before throwing in another quarter and trying again. Axel had quickly lost interest. The older boy wandered around the arcade playing different shooter and racing games, dabbling with a pinball machine, and even shooting hoops for tickets. He'd worked up quite a load by the time the entrance to the establishment chimed open and some called out his name. Both Sora and Axel turned to watch Riku slam the door behind himself and wave energetically; he walked right past the youngest boy and over to his redheaded friend. Riku and Axel bumped knuckles as the icy haired teen grinned and said, "Long time, man. How's it goin'?"

Behind them Sora fumbled again and missed the light. He cursed loudly, gaining the other boys' attention. Axel gestured, "Not too good with him for company. That guy really does suck at this stuff." Sora glared over his shoulder and fed the machine another quarter. He focused intently on the machine, and just as the light turned red a voice sounded behind him. "You're not fast enough," Riku stated, startling Sora so badly the brunet knocked his fist against the glass instead of on the button.

He rubbed his knuckles gingerly, sending a seething glare at his friend before turning back to the game and saying hotly, "I noticed."

"Do you want some help?" Riku offered good-naturedly.

Sora spun around, "I don't **need** any help, okay?" he said, not sure why it bugged him so much. The older male stepped back, hands up in the air and a grin bleeding onto his features. He turned away and ambled across the arcade, choosing a game as far away from Sora's as possible. The brunet thought he heard older boy mumble something about overreacting, but it could have been his imagination.

A phone chimed from Axel's direction. The redhead blinked and fished around in his pockets; he finally pulled out a small black object and flipped it open, slurring a loud, "Hello?" into the receiver. A second past before recognition filtered over his features and he practically yelled, "Oh, hey man! What's up?" He listened for a second. "Wait – she what? How? …No way, you're kidding me! Oh man, I wish I could've seen." Sora and Riku watched him curiously as the redhead chattered on into his phone. "Wait – she still is? Seriously? Oh my god, where?!" He paused, listening to directions. "That's not even far from where I am! Oh I'm so there – tell her to stay like that 'til I get there, okay?"

Axel flipped the phone closed without warning and grinned up at his two friends. "So a friend of mine got… caught up in something." He snickered, "And it's nearby. I've gotta see, so I'm gonna jet. You two cool on your own?"

Out of the two younger boys, Riku was the first to complain. "But I just got here!" He yelled, voice taking on a whiny tone.

"And how am I supposed to get home?" Sora questioned, pointing outside to Axel's car.

The eldest of the group sighed, "One – don't you two live, like, right next door to each other? I don't really see a problem for you, Sora. And two – sorry man, I know we haven't hung out too much this summer, but you can still hang out with little Sora over there. We'll do something some other time, 'kay?" Axel was already heading over to the door, completely oblivious to the hesitant glances the other two boys were sending each other. Sora, personally, didn't want to have to stay out with Riku alone. Not after the stuff that'd happened that morning or the stupid confessions last night.

Riku shared the same sentiments.

Before either boy could complain Axel swung the door open with a chime and was gone. They heard his engine start and the sound of tires peeling out from the parking lot a few seconds later.

A second passed before the brunet sighed and decided to at least make the best of a bad situation.

With Axel gone, Sora was finally able to abandon the kiddy-games. He took advantage of the redhead's absence, sneaking over to a particularly bloody looking shooter booth and slipping in two silver quarters. The boy grinned and pulled out a rather emasculating pink gun from the holster in front of him; he pointed it ahead of him at eye level. Hardly half a minute had gone by before Sora was surrounded, terrorists shooting from all around him. He tried to hit each one, but with every bullet fired his attention slipped. He glanced to the side and noticed Riku playing a racing game across the arcade.

When he looked his friend's way a minute later the teen was shooting hoops only a few consoles away.

The character Sora was playing took a bullet to the chest. He cursed and reached into his pocket, pulling out two new quarters and slipping them in the machine. What a rip-off, the brunet thought as he selected 'continue' and went back to dancing around in a heavy rain of bullets. He tried to focus, ignoring the flashes of platinum he kept getting in his peripheral vision. Sora shot blankly at one of his attackers, hitting almost everything but the man.

"You suck at this," A voice from his right startled Sora. He jumped, nearly dropping his gun in the process. The boy sent a scathing glare at Riku; the older teen was currently taking residence against the side of a near-by shooter booth. Sora ignored him, turning back to the screen and raising his gun to eye level. "No, you're not doing it right." Suddenly arms were wrapping themselves around Sora's body. They set paths of fire down them boy's limbs as they slid over his bare skin and easily gripped his hands. "You've got to hold it a little lower," Riku's breath washed over the smaller boy's ear. Sora went red at once; he was about to say something sarcastic when he felt his best friend's chest push against his back and erupt the entire area in flames. Riku didn't seem to notice that his pupil had gone completely stiff. He practically cradled the younger boy as he leaned his head over Sora's shoulder to better see the screen.

It was almost as if they were hugging.

Sora completely froze when that thought went through his mind. He held his arms out at right angles, eyes widening and mouth gaping slightly. He sent a panicked glance at Riku, but the older boy seemed completely at ease. The brunet gulped unconsciously and tried to focus on the shooters in front of him and not the bumps of Riku's abdomen against his back. He felt a cool finger press down against his own as the older teen guided his hands across the screen to mow down a line of terrorists. It was a totally innocent motion, but a blush still enveloped Sora's neck and ears at it. There was just an unexplainable romantic feel to killing people.

Okay, it was official. Sora had completely lost his mind. He stood there in a sort of daze, letting skilled hands guide him through each level of the game. Each time a shooter popped out he tried to ignore the way Riku would jump and rub against him slightly, but that proved almost impossible.

Instead, Sora took to counting to one-thousand.

He was at two hundred and eighteen when Riku finally ran out of quarters. He felt the older boy shift, one arm still clinging to Sora's as the other groped around his back pocket for another round. Finally Riku shrugged and pulled away, rolling his head obliviously from side to side as Sora turned and glared up at him. Eventually the older teen cracked an eye and glanced at his friend. Riku was surprised to see the brunet in front of him was slightly flustered and scuffing his shoes against the tiled arcade floor. A silent moment passed between the two before the older boy's eyes widened fractionally and took on a different light. "Oh." He stated slightly, coming into the realization about how after all their agreements, touching Sora closely like that was… inappropriate. "Ohh…" He said it with more emphasis as his eyes continued to morph into saucers.

"Yeah…" Sora rubbed the back of his head embarrassedly, about to say more when Riku mumbled something about going to the bathroom and took off as quickly as possible. The younger boy stood alone in his wake; he blinked slowly, already overloaded mind digesting what had just happened. For the first time it occurred to Sora that they could have been seen. He looked around hurriedly and was relieved to find that only two other boys were in the arcade; they were much too absorbed in their racing games to notice any tension going off between other gamers.

A relieved sigh brushed past Sora's lips. He dropped a hand to his pocket and fished out a loose quarter; the boy flipped it with his thumb lightly, mesmerized as it glinted in the air then landed face-down in his palm. He ambled across the room, choosing the first game he had played that night. Without Axel around to rush him or Riku to distract him, Sora was sure he could finally beat it and get more tickets. He popped the change in and smiled excitedly as the machine came to life, bright lights washing over his skin and cheerful carnival music shouting through the room. The teen growled each time he missed his mark; the game was efficiently sucking down his quarters with no prizes in return.

After five minutes limped by Sora kicked the machine. He shrugged away angrily and stuffed his hands into now empty pockets, looking around. Brown spikes swayed slightly as the head they were attached to turned left and right; a curious frown buried itself into Sora's features once he realized Riku was nowhere to be found. _Still in the bathroom?_ he wondered, unconsciously turning in that direction and heading off.

Sora found himself gravitating outside the lavatory door; not wanting to go inside but not wanting to leave. Another two minutes sprang by, Sora's impatience making them feel like hours. Riku was going to make him go in after him, wasn't he? The brunet sighed, feet dragging as he pressed his palms against the bathroom door and pushed it open slowly. Once inside, it wasn't hard at all to locate Riku. The bathroom was cramped, two stalls shoved against the far wall with urinals to the left and a sink across from the entrance. Sora caught a glance of himself in the mirror as the door swung open; he looked very tired.

Riku was sitting on the floor next to the sink. He was curled up, back against the wall with his legs pulled into his chest. His head was at first resting on his knees, long tendrils of icy hair falling freely over his shoulder and bunching in his lap. However, he jerked up when the door creaked open. His hair flew back wildly as he stared wide-eyed at his best friend; the brunet was standing directly in front of the older teen and looking down with a foreign expression written across his features. Sora sighed lightly, bending down until he balanced on his toes and was eye-to-eye with Riku. "What's wrong?" He questioned, usual dimness lost to the serious mood.

The older boy didn't feel like lying right now. He closed his eyes briefly, dragging platinum brows together as he took a deep cleansing breath and began, "I…" He cut off, wetting his lips. Riku exhaled loudly and started over, "You aren't the only one who's been having problems, Sora." At the younger boy's confused expression he continued, "Last night…" Aquamarine searched out sweet cerulean, "When you said… about the beach." A light blush painted Riku's cheeks. He looked pointedly at the wall, "I wanted to kiss you too. I… I enjoyed the first night as well, and… it keeps popping into my head at the weirdest times!" The older boy looked up desperately. "It's like every time I close my eyes we're kissing or almost kissing, and it's so… it's so weird." He finished lamely. Sora was about to reply, but Riku cut him off, "I've gone insane." He let his head loll back, eyes focusing on the ceiling.

"No you haven't…" Sora muttered, watching as Riku snapped back to attention. The younger boy shook his head from side to side, "This is all so messed up." His temples ached, the florescent lighting made his eyes hurt, and an undeniable knot was tying itself in his stomach. He sighed, "I think we should just go home. This place isn't helping at all, and I'm suddenly feeling exhausted."

Riku nodded. The air between them became thick with silence, Sora still crouching on the ground and noticing a sudden change in his friend's posture. The older boy had placed one hand on the wall, one on the floor, and was using them as leverage to push himself up. His butt was just barely off the ground when their eyes met. Riku stopped moving and simply stared, face alarmingly closer to Sora's. The brunet himself was fighting the urge to move away. He inched back slightly just as Riku opened his mouth to speak, "Before we go… can I… have one?"

"One what?" Sora asked shakily, legs almost giving out beneath him.

Still holding himself up against the wall, Riku gulped. "A kiss." He said quietly, almost hoping the younger boy wouldn't hear him. Unfortunately, he did.

Sora almost fell backwards. "A-A what?!" He asked, head jutting back in surprise.

The older boy fell back against the wall, sinking down slowly. "You heard me," He said with a sigh. "It just… It feels almost like if I don't ask now, I won't be able to stop thinking about all these weird things. You know?" The list off all the stupid things he'd done recently formed in the front of Sora's mind. He dropped his eyes to the floor, knowing all too well what Riku meant. An uneasy moment passed before the older boy sighed, "You know what? Forget I even said that. It was a **really** stupid idea anyw-"

"Okay," Sora cut him off. He glanced up, eyes locking with his friend's.

"O…kay?" Riku repeated, as if he'd forgotten the meaning of the word.

In front of him, Sora dropped to his knees. He inched forward, body held erect as a coral tongue darted out over his lips and he nodded. "Okay." He said one last time, arms and legs shaking almost uncontrollably with each inch he moved. Riku gulped, tucking a platinum strand of hair behind his ear as he looked up at Sora. The younger boy was much closer now; he situated himself between Riku's legs until finally looking down and placing shaky hands on the other male's shoulders. He bent his head to the side slowly, anticipation rising along with his blood pressure as their lips inched closer and closer.

Eyes half-lidded, Riku pushed himself up just enough to finally bring their lips together solidly. With the touch, Sora felt pins and needles erupt all over his body. Cerulean orbs locked with aquamarine ones for a moment before both boys let their eyes fall shut and completely surrendered themselves to the feel of one another.

Riku was the first to start moving. The world around him felt like it was wavering, like someone had taken life by the seams and ripped it up, leaving only feelings in their wake. And - good god - he could feel so much. The teen was unable to stop his hand from traveling up to Sora's cheek. He stroked there lightly, amazed at how soft the skin felt under his calloused fingertips. As the seconds leaked by he continued to push himself up until finally the older male had lumbered onto his own knees and was the one facing down. Sora didn't seem to mind; he whimpered quietly as Riku's lips worked against his own. The younger boy dropped him arms from his friend's shoulders. He let them travel of their own accord down Riku's sides and over his back. The boy groped at the material of his best friend's shirt and tried to pull him closer, which didn't seem possible. God, why couldn't they get any closer?! Clothed chests pressed together lightly as Sora's small pecs rubbed just below Riku's, causing the other boy to groan something incomprehensible against his lips.

Just as Sora was arching his back from the particularly delicious feel of the older teen's hand massaging circles into his back, Riku pulled away. He was breathing heavily as he glanced down at Sora's face. The younger male still had his eyes closed; his mouth hung open slightly and he wore an expression of annoyance. Riku was about to apologize for getting too caught up in the kiss when the hands that had previously been wrapped around his back relocated themselves to his shoulders and pushed him backwards. He hit the wall with a light thud and glanced in relative shock at a very flustered looking Sora. "Don't just stop like that!" The younger boy said angrily, breathily. Before he could reply hungry lips were devouring his own, small hands applying pressure to his shoulders and keeping him in place.

Not that Riku would have moved anyways.

He lifted a brow and smiled into the kiss, all too willing to participate if Sora wanted him to. "Do that thing with your hands," the brunet demanded, sending vibrations out against the older teen's lips and squashing any doubts. Riku eagerly complied, dropped his hands to Sora's waist and rubbing small circles there. The younger boy dropped his head back for a moment, groaning lightly before snapping back to attention and cementing their lips together again. Riku wasn't sure he liked being commanded so much anymore. The two were slowly inching up the wall, the force of their constant shoving sent them higher and higher until the older male was standing casually and Sora was on his tip-toes trying to keep their lips together.

Riku smirked and used his height to his advantage. He gripped Sora's straight, boyish hips tightly and used them as leverage to whirl their bodies around. The younger boy was pushed into the wall, and before he could even complain demanding lips had possessed his own again. _Oh well_, Sora thought. As long as he could feel Riku he didn't really care what position they were in. Timid hands wrapped themselves around the older male's shoulders. Sora let the appendages work into his friend's hair slowly and marveled at the effect it had on him. Riku's hips jutted forward of their own accord, brushing lightly against certain southern parts of his younger friend's anatomy and retrieving a loud gasp from both boys at once.

Oh, they **really** liked that.

Somewhere in the back of his mind Sora heard alarms going off. Something about this being weird, something about it being wrong, and something about people being able to walk in any second. Only the last part caught his attention. "Stall," He gasped, pulling his lips away from Riku's only to be ignored by the other boy. Said teen had taken straight to showering the junction between Sora's neck and shoulder with open-mouthed kisses, causing the boy to gasp and lean his head to the side to allow easier access. "We need… stall." He breathed again, louder this time.

They stumbled backwards together, Riku still licking and biting at Sora's neck while the younger boy withered and tried to steer them to the handicapped stall. More room. Once they stumbled inside Riku locked the door behind them. The second the small barrier clicked shut Sora found himself being almost violently pushed into the nearest wall and having his lips bruised by Riku's. The older teen gripped his hips again, pulling their bodies together as hungry hands weaved under Sora's thighs and pulled them up. The brunet found himself pinned with Riku and the wall as his only support. He clamped his legs around the older teen's middle and groaned, hips pivoting with a mind of their own.

Riku was kissing his neck again. Sora gasped at the feeling, letting his head loll to the side and enjoying the feel of lips on his skin. He tilted his chin over his friend's shoulder, a hand weaving absently into the older boy's hair and massaging there. Riku's head fell back at the sensation. He was breathing heavily when he turned his head towards Sora's and pushed their lips together. The younger boy continued to grind his hips. He relished the sensation of Riku pushing back; the hands that supported his thighs spread out and began kneading the skin there.

Just as a hesitant tongue swept across Sora's lower lip the door to the bathroom opened and someone came inside. Both boys froze simultaneously, Riku with his tongue still out and Sora with his hips pressed forwards. Whoever was in the bathroom apparently had no idea what was going on. They whistled to themselves as they used the urinal, and once they were done they washed their hands graciously and exited the bathroom with the same merry tone on their lips.

As soon as the bathroom door slammed shut Riku dropped Sora's legs. The younger boy stumbled for a moment, not quiet used to his own weight. He blinked wildly; half in shock about what happened and half in relief that they hadn't been caught. Good god, that would have been embarrassing. Riku was the first to step away; he rubbed the back of his head and spoke what was on both their minds, "Well, thank god we decided to use a stall." His voice held an awkward note, probably because not two minutes ago they were dry-humping against a wall. Sora nodded, a blush spreading like fire over his cheeks. For a second they stood in shocked silence, until finally the softest bubbling sound came from Sora's throat.

He was laughing. Riku watched in amazement, and after a moment he too found his shoulders shaking. They laughed wildly together, manically, not sure what was so funny but finding it hilarious anyways. "T-t-that would have been horrible!" Sora chuckled, arms weaving around his sides and gripping the material there. Riku doubled over too; they chuckled together until breathing became almost impossible.

Finally they sobered, and Sora was the first to speak. "How're we getting home, anyways?" His cheeks were still red.

"I've gotta call my mom to come pick us up," Riku answered, his own porcelain skin holding a red tint. The boys snuck out of the bathroom, glancing around sneakily before exiting the building and breaking out into the shadowy parking lot.

It was dark outside. Night had taken over the world while the two were inside playing games. Sora waited under a lamp while Riku called his mother, neon lights from the arcade sign shrouding the two in greens and pinks. Beth pulled up fifteen minutes later, her black sedan rolling out of the shadows like it had been born from them. The boys lumbered inside, lanky knees bumping as they situated themselves in the back.

Ten minutes later the three pulled up in front of Sora's house. He jumped out of the car, promising that he would just grab his night clothes then be right over. Riku smiled at him from an open window. Sora grinned back, finally comfortable with his friend and actually looking forward to spending more time together.

The older boy had been right; somehow, after that kiss it was like all the apprehension had melted away. Sora felt so free he practically skipped to his front door and danced inside, humming to himself as he crossed the kitchen to the hall that led to his bedroom.

A ringing phone stopped him. Sora lifted a curious brow, jumping to the counter where his cordless phone lived and bringing the receiver to his ear. "Hello?" He questioned, wondering if Riku had called him as a joke.

"Sora!" Kairi's voice invaded his ear. "I can't believe you and Riku went out without me! You guys are so mean…"

Sora's stomach dropped. He had completely forgotten about Kairi; he had almost forgotten she existed entirely. Suddenly, his good mood morphed into a guilty silence. The boy wet his lips and listened to her rant on about how he would have to make it up to her. "It makes me so sad when you guys leave me behind…" She was saying, unconsciously intensifying her boyfriend's guilt to the point that it was unbearable.

"Kairi!" He cut her off, gut twisting. "I… I need to see you. I've got to grab a few things first, but could you meet me at the edge of the park in, I don't know, five minutes?"

The other line was quiet before Kairi's bubbly voice chimed, "Okay! I'll see you then."

Sora winced and set the phone down. He gathered a bag of his nightclothes and set them next to his front door. The boy knew it would have been easier to talk right outside, but he wanted to be somewhere less open to talk to her.

_God help me_, he thought as he stepped outside the front door.

* * *

The sky overhead was dark, just like it had been for the last few days. Far away Sora could hear thunder rumbling and feel the jolt of distant lightning.

It really completed the scene.

He walked with his head down, hands stuffed in his pockets as he traveled through the ever-luminescent haze of street lamps and shadows. He didn't have to look up to know he was close to the park's edge; the nauseating waft of freshly cut grass was enough to warn him of his approach. The brunet stopped under a light. He looked up slowly at the sparse foliage that erupted along the divide between the street and the park. Up ahead he could just make out a bench through the midnight shadows; if he squinted he could see Kairi's distinct posture as she waited for him atop the wooden seat. Sora sighed lowly and dropped his head again, traveling forward at a snail's pace. Mud squished under his shoes loudly, deafeningly, as he made his way over to the girl.

Even once he stood before her Sora did not look up. He wet his lips, hands still trapped in the warmth of his pockets while his eyes stayed glued to the ground. Lightning shot behind him, dancing down through the canopy of trees and momentarily freezing him into a silhouette. Kairi stared on in silent fascination; she easily picked up on the gloomy mood her boyfriend was emitting and tactfully stayed quiet, letting him be the first to speak. Sora didn't though; time stretched on endlessly until he finally, albeit hesitantly, took a seat next to the redhead.

"Hey," He finally mumbled, eyes still downcast as unruly spikes cast a shadow over his face.

Kairi wet her lips, amethyst orbs dilating in the dark to take more of her boyfriend - her best friend - in. "Hey…" she replied dryly, hands nervously clasped in her lap. The girl had no idea why Sora had asked her here. At first she had thought he wanted to play around, do couple things, but looking at his solemn expression now she felt it must be something much more serious. Kairi gulped silently, gaze falling down to her twiddling thumbs.

Lightning shot through the sky again, the white glow permeating the canopy above them and falling down in solid-looking beams onto the ground. Even though it lasted only a second, Kairi thought it was beautiful. She found her attention drifting back to Sora magnetically, as if he demanded all of her concentration without even moving. He was staring forward, probably also marveling at how striking the natural light-show they were receiving was. Finally the girl worked up the courage to speak again, seeing as her company showed no signs of wanting to. "It's really pretty…" She offered, mind pulling blanks for material to talk about.

Radiant cerulean eyes lifted to Kairi's face, tracing the girl's petite features and eventually locking onto her own widened orbs. "It… it really is." Sora said, pointedly ignoring how a blush was working up to the redhead's roots. His stomach turned and twisted; the boy felt sick as he went back to glaring at the ground in front of him. He was perfectly aware that a thick silence had settled between them, and it was his entire fault. But truth be told, the boy had no idea how to remedy that. Right now all Sora wanted to do was yell at her, scream about how guilty he'd been feeling and confess to the things he had done – enjoyed doing – with their mutual friend.

At that very moment, Sora wanted her to hate him.

But he knew, deep down, even if he told Kairi everything he'd done she wouldn't hate him. She was… too kind, too forgiving. She'd blame herself, and he didn't want that. This mess, this entire jumble of mixed feelings and messed up emotions was all his fault, and no one needed to blame themselves but him. Sora's stomach turned again. He could feel an indescribable prickle at the back of his nose as he continued to stare intensely at the ground. Movement from his left caught the boy's eye. He turned slightly, glancing in Kairi's direction before widening his eyes in shock. She was much closer now; her lips not five inches from his.

Panic cut through the haze of indecision that had settled over Sora's mind. He sat frozen for a moment, locked in horror, before lurching backwards out of instinct and tumbling off the bench and into the mud. The brunet sat immobile there in the grime, wide-eyed and heaving, his eyes glued to the girl in front of him.

Kairi was still leaning forward, weight entirely focused on her arms so she could bend towards the spot previously occupied by her boyfriend. Two deep amethyst eyes were widened fractionally as she sat in her own state of shock.

A second ticked by, then two and three and so on, until finally her shoulders fell and the girl shifted back into her place on the bench. "I'm sorry," She whispered, even though they both knew who was at fault. Sora could sympathize, though. It was beautiful out, he had asked her here, and they **were** a couple. Kissing… it was probably something a normal couple would do in this situation.

But kissing had nothing to do with why he asked her here.

Sora cleared his throat, pushing himself up off the ground and brushing at his soiled pants thoughtfully. He leveled his gaze at Kairi; the girl was staring at her intertwined hands as if they were the most interesting things on Earth. He had to clear his throat again to gain the girl's attention. She looked up quickly; as red strands of hair flew up with her face an out of place spark of… something… ignited her features.

It took Sora a moment to realize Kairi looked scared. The boy wet his lips, uncomfortable with such an expression being aimed at him. Dread laced through his system, doubt accompanying the trepidation.

_Maybe… maybe I shouldn't do this_, he thought just as lightning again sparked and lit Kairi's features. She looked so fragile, so weak, like if he told her anything it would break her. God, he couldn't do that. He couldn't bear to do that. Not to Kairi. Not to sweet innocent Kairi who'd only ever tried to love him.

Why couldn't he love her back anymore?

It didn't matter, really. He knew her. He knew Kairi, and he knew that she was so much stronger than she looked. He knew deep down it was**wrong** to keep up the façade of a happy boyfriend, while secretly his heart was attaching itself to someone else. The kindest thing he could do now was end it. And so, with his resolve steeled, Sora motioned for the girl to follow him.

As they walked a continuous mantra of 'this is right' played through the brunet's head. He had first planned to end it back in the clearing, but now he thought it was too nice a place. Too beautiful. It held too many precious childhood memories to be scarred by something as ugly as what Sora wanted to say. Of course, Sora really had no idea what he wanted to say. The closer they got to the street the faster his heart raced. Once muddy feet erupted onto concrete he was convinced he could drop dead of a heart attack at any moment.

But he didn't, and they kept walking. Finally, they stopped, ironically standing under a blinking streetlamp adjacent to Riku's house. Sora glanced at the structure, his breath hitching lightly as his pulse dropped back to normal.

It was like the closer to his best friend he was, the more courage Sora had.

Standing there under a blinking lamp in the middle of the night Sora found talking easier. He kept his eyes glued to Riku's front door as he spoke, body angled away from the quiet girl behind him. "Kairi…" he began, feeling abnormally calm. "We should break up." He said it nonchalantly, said something he'd been dreading for so long with the ease of a simple 'hey'.

Behind him Kairi was silent, as if she hadn't heard him properly. Seconds limped by, and Sora was about to repeat himself when he heard a barely audible, "Why?"

And at first, he really couldn't answer.

"I…"_I've been willingly making out with someone else, obviously there's something wrong with that picture. _"It's just…"_And he's a guy._ "Well-" _And your other best friend. _Sora couldn't say any of that. He didn't want to. All he wanted was to stop feeling guilty about something that had pretty much spiraled out of his control. The boy took a deep breath before starting over, "Remember when you first moved here? From inland? And everyone was **so** taken with you…?" He glanced over his shoulder to watch Kairi nod. "You were the most interesting person I'd ever met. Life before you, it was so boring. You made things brighter, and I couldn't help the feelings that I developed for you. You… you're one of my best friends, Kairi. But…" He glanced back at Riku's front door, "Now that I think about it, maybe that's all we should ever be."

The night air around them was still. It radiated confusion and hurt, and even though everything was completely silent, Sora felt deafened. He turned back towards Kairi, watching as the light overhead doused her in a golden glow one second and sent her spiraling into shadows the next. He wet his lips, suddenly afraid the light would blink on and she wouldn't be there anymore.

It made him want to reach out and grab her and never let her go.

"How can that be true?" Kairi's voice sounded strained, like she was holding back tears. The light blinked on and Sora could see her face; the girl wore an expression of pain, her eyebrows pulled together with her lips quivering just barely. Then shadows overtook her again and it was a ghost's voice speaking to him there in the dark, "It can't be. You… you can't like someone enough to kiss them one day, and then not even a week later you… You just don't like them at all. It doesn't work like that…" The light flashed on, and she was staring at him. "Something had to have changed. Is there…" The lights went off. "Someone else..?"

Sora's first notion was to vehemently deny it. No, there was no one. No one, no one, no one.

A second later he was considering telling her; after all the truth sets you free. But no, he couldn't do that. He didn't want to sadden Kairi any more, and he wanted even less to incriminate Riku. Sora was caught in a lose-lose situation, so he chose the less hectic of his choices and shook his head vigorously, "No, I… I would never." Lying wasn't really going to hurt anyone, and Kairi would never know anyways.

"I'm sorry, Kairi. I just don't feel that way anymore. I know it's an inconvenient time for me to realize, what with us finally dating, but I'd much rather stop now so I can't hurt you more later on…" Sora spoke his words in a steady, even voice. He sounded sure as sure could be, but he did not feel so positive. When he looked at her, Sora still thought Kairi was beautiful. His heart still sped up, and if he didn't guard against it his mind would wander off to frivolous places it really shouldn't be. In reality, he knew that guilt was mostly the reason he was doing this. He couldn't look her in the eye anymore, and Sora didn't want to live like that.

"You're sure?" Kairi asked. Behind them lightning bled into the sky, thunder roaring immediately after. It was going to rain soon.

Sora was quiet a second; thoughtful. "Yeah…" he finally answered, voice quivering this time. The lights blinked on one more time just as a drop of water hit the ground at Kairi's feet. Sora didn't know if it was a tear or not; milliseconds later the sky opened up and doused the two in freshwater.

Even the sky was crying.

Sora turned away, not wanting to see the streaks down Kairi's face. The light overhead made a loud cracking noise before giving out completely. It left them standing in the dark for a moment before Sora said, voice and mind as certain as they would ever be, "I'm sure." He walked away, leaving Kairi alone and crying in the rain.

As his feet squashed over Riku's front lawn, Sora had to focus on not looking back. He knew he couldn't do that now, and all he really wanted was to hurry inside the warmth and comfort of his best friend's bedroom and hear that he had done the right thing. Sora completely forgot to stop by his house and pick up his nightclothes first; he burst into Riku's house soaking wet without a second thought. The boy turned right and ran down a familiar hall, probably dripping on the carpet but not really caring.

Sora pulled his best friend's door open almost violently. Inside it was dark, but that didn't stop him from looking around wildly. At that moment it felt like if he didn't see Riku soon he would go insane. He didn't need to worry though; the older teen was currently perched on the side of his bed and looking directly at Sora from behind luminescent aquamarine eyes. The brunet hesitated a moment before stumbling into the room, clothes wet and muddy and making it hard to move. Riku stood, a hand grasping Sora's elbow reassuringly. The boy shrugged him off, muttering, "I'm fine, I'm fine…" more to assure himself than his friend.

The older male dropped his hands to his sides and stepped back. "Okay…" He said softly, "Then what took you so long? Lose your underwear?" Riku chuckled to himself.

"I was with Kairi, actually." Sora said, mind a million miles away. He lumbered across the room - not caring that he was tracking mud - over to Riku's window. He stared out at the clouds, unaware that his best friend had sunken back down to his bed and deflated.

Riku sat there a moment, not sure why he was suddenly feeling sick. He fingered his comforter absently and offered Sora a quiet, "Oh." The brunet didn't catch the dejected tone laced in his friend's voice. He continued to stare at the sky, wishing he could see the moon. After a few minutes Riku walked up behind him, a hand finding its way to the boy's shoulder as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Cerulean eyes stayed glued to the heavens. Sora didn't answer for a moment; he was far too engrossed in the constant pitter patter of raindrops hitting the glass in front of him. "Kairi and I broke up," he said eventually, wondering detachedly if she was still standing outside. He hoped not.

Behind him, Sora heard Riku inhale a stunned breath. Was it that surprising? It was all the older boy's fault, anyways. If he hadn't asked for one little kiss-turned-make-out-session then none of this would have happened.

For the first time that night resentment spiked in Sora's mind; he wanted to turn and yell at Riku. When he felt hesitant arms wrap around his shoulders he wanted to push them away, but instead he found himself leaning back and taking comfort in the action. His anger died as quickly as it was born, leaving Sora with an empty shell of worry and fear and… at least for now, cradled in a soothing embrace, contentment.

The brunet felt rather than heard Riku speak. It took him a moment to decipher what the older boy said. "I'm sorry…" he had mumbled against Sora's damp spikes. The younger boy twisted away from the window and laced his arms over his best friend's shoulders, not caring anymore if it was taken as more than the friendly embrace it was. He tucked his head into the warm crook of Riku's neck and whispered, just loud enough for the older boy to hear,

"I'm not."

* * *

**Post A/N:**

_"I don't think I want this anymore,"_

_As she drops the ring to the floor._

_She says to herself, "You've left before,"_

_"This time you will stay gone that's for sure." _

_And he shouted something as, _

_She dragged her suitcase down the path-_

_To the driveway, she had never gone that far… _

_Normally this would be_

_The time that she – would let him talk her out of leaving, _

_But this time, without crying, as she got into her car_

_She said-_

_"No, happily never after,_

_That just ain't for me_

_Because finally_

_I know - I deserve better_

_After all_

_(I'll never let another teardrop fall)"_

**No Happily Never after - Nicole Scherzinger (or the Backstreet Boys): **I listened to a lot of songs throughout this chapter, but this one the most. It's very pretty and both versions are good! God check it out.

(The real A/N):

Oh my! Sorry for taking so obnoxiously long to update. I'm a very bad procrastinator, and one thing after another kept coming up. First I couldn't get a hold of my BETA, then I got sick, then I went on an art spree, and then I got sick again. But the most important thing is I DID finish, and I even made it really damn long. Love me. :D

So, there are some issues that need discussing. Like, "DOOD – why is Sora freaking bipolar?" Well… I can't answer that. I'm trying very seriously not to write him like a whiny girl, but we've all seen him in the game and no matter how awesome he gets, well, he still kind of gets girly on me sometimes. Let's just say he's indecisive about how he's feeling. Okay?

Also… poor Kairi. I felt very bad for her. I wanted to make their break-up scene much more powerful, but really… That was at the end of like, 10k words. I was EMOTIONALLY DRAINED :pants: Well, at least now Sora and Riku have a little more room for sweet sweet lovin'. I've got a lot planned now, but I still need ideas! So, feel free to leave a review (I may not depend on 'em, but they only take a couple seconds and they make my day) and then go to my profile and vote in the new poll!

And thanks to my new, wonderful BETA! (love you soo much A!)


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: **

Oh-em-gee. An update, after all this time?

Noo… haha.

Sorry! I felt the need to inform anyone who is still alive and watching this story that I have every intention of working on it in the near future… I'm just dealing with some massive writer's block and am not sure where the story should go.

I have some ideas, most of them very dark ones that involve Sora slowing changing into a more twisted individual. If I take that route the story will have a lot of darker themes; things like an on-the-side relationship with Axel and possible fraternizing with a school teacher. Lots of stuff that real Sora would NOT do, lolsadface. 'Course this story would still remain mainly Riku/Sora, following their relationship and how these outside relationships alter them.

I don't knoooooow. D: That stuff probably won't happen I'm just spit-balling.

Do me a favor and review this if you have any idea on what YOU want to see happen next? :)

_Oh, and before I forget to shamelessly pimp the story I've actually been working on...._

_There is a story on my profile called Through the Looking Glass, and it's an adventure story following Sora through different worlds like Naruto, WoW, Bleach... Yes, it's lovely but doesn't get much attention so I figured I'd be a blantant review-whore and suggest you go check it out in the mean time? Because that would be fabulous~ Of course, have no fear for the story eventually gets to Soiku goodness... :)))  
_


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